DEER LAKE — The daughters of two of heavyweight boxing’s most virulent opponents — Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier — met over the weekend at Fighter’s Heaven.
It was the first time that Khaliah Ali and Jacqui Frazier Lyde met at Ali’s former training camp on Sculp’s Hill.
Both women were participants in Saturday’s daylong conference observing the 50th anniversary of the “Thrilla in Manila,” the legendary battle between Ali and Frazier in the Philippines on Oct. 1, 1975.
“It was a special day to have members of the Ali and Frazier families come together to commemorate one of the greatest events in sport’s history,” said Mick Stefanek, general manager of Fighter’s Heaven.
“We had people from Pakistan, Mexico and England register for the conference,” Stefanek said. “Fighter’s Heaven is becoming an international destination.”
Memorialized in art
Khaliah Ali and British artist Mark Dickens unveiled the first painting in the “Fighter’s Heaven In Art” series.
Dickens is creating 15 paintings – as in rounds — and a 16th to be donated to the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky, the fighter’s hometown.
The series, an homage to Ali’s training camp, is expected to be completed next year. It’s likely to be unveiled at Fighter’s Heaven.
“This is the most important body of work about my father,” Khaliah said. “It immortalizes him in words that people felt about him. It is truly one of a kind.”
Dickens’ work can be found in international collections and the Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi, where he lives. The official Formula 1 racing artist, his projects include “Ferrari in Art” and “World Champions in Art.”
In unveiling a miniature of the first painting, Dickens said the series will be mixed media on canvas.
“It showcases Ali’s life and legacy,” he said. “It’s based on the words of people who knew Ali or were inspired by him, and what comes through is love and beauty.”
No. 1 in the series is a collage that depicts a young Ali in the ring and early scenes from the training camp bathed in swaths of red and yellow.
It includes a handwritten passage, attributed to one of Ali’s children, that reads: “Sports Illustrated once asked my dad who could beat Muhammad Ali. My Dad said Cassius Clay could kick his ass.”
Images in the paintings are based on the work of Jeff Julian, a Berks County photographer, who has documented activities at the training camp since 1978.
Madden emcee
Mike Madden, who bought the camp about nine years ago, moderated the program.
The son of Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden, he traveled from his home in California to oversee the conference.
The morning session included panel discussions entitled “Ali-Frazier, The Men” with Khaliah Ali and Peter Lyde, Frazier’s son-in-law, and “Ali-Frazier, The Rivals” with two-time World Heavyweight Champion Tim Witherspoon and George Bochetto, whose film “Cassius Ali” was shown.
There was a screening and discussion of the “Thrilla in Manila” fight, which Ali won with a technical knockout in the 14th round. It is widely considered one of the most devastating professional fights in the history of the sport.
Estimates of 25,000 to 35,000 viewed the fight live in the capital city of the Philippines, and some 1 billion people viewed it worldwide on television.
The event was the third organized by Ken Safarowic, a volunteer staff member. Proceeds from the conference benefit St. Joseph Center for Learning in Schuylkill Haven.
Lasting impressions
Scott and Rollene Gougher were still teenagers when they chipped in a few bucks to view the “Thrilla in Manila” on Pay-Per-View TV 50 years ago.
They came from their home in Palmerton, Carbon County, to once more witness the historic bout replete with Ali’s post-fight antics.
“I never forgot that fight,” said Scott, a retired mechanical draftsman. “I rooted for Ali because I thought he was the greatest.”
Scott took a little heat from his father and other relatives, who thought of Ali as being ostentatious.
On a whim, then-18-year-old Bo Reiley and friends visited the camp in 1978.
It was around the time of Ali’s rematch with Leon Spinks, known as the Battle of New Orleans, on Sept. 15, 1978.
“When we came up, there were cars all over the place, and an ABC News crew was here,” Reiley said. “I remember Ali coming out and sparring.”
An Auburn attorney, Reiley last visited the camp in 1981. His visit on Saturday, he said, was to rekindle old memories.
Tyrone Stukes and Van Pearson drove up from Philadelphia for the “Thrilla in Manila” conference.
Stukes brought along a poster-sized print of Ali standing over Sonny Liston, who was sprawled out on the canvas in the first round of a World Heavyweight Championship bout in 1965. On a lark, they posed with the photo in front of a boulder dedicated to Liston.
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