Carlos Padilla Jr.
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Carlos "Sonny" Dolorico Padilla Jr. (; born April 19, 1934) is a retired actor and
boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...
and judge from the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. He is best known for refereeing the "
Thrilla in Manila Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier III, billed as the ''Thrilla in Manila'', was the third and final professional boxing match between undisputed champion Muhammad Ali, and former champion Joe Frazier, for the heavyweight championship of the world. ...
" between
Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...
and
Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. Nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. He was known for ...
in 1975.


Career

The son of an Olympic boxer and actor, Padilla's professional career began as an actor, where he was known a commercial advertisement of "Family Rubbing Alcohol" with the famous slogan, ''Hindi lang pampamilya, pang-isports pa''. His acting career spanned over 40 years, with his final credited role in '' Sige, Subukan Mo'' in 1998. Padilla first came to international prominence as a referee when he refereed the third fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, known as the "Thrilla in Manila". Before the fight, Frazier's trainer
Eddie Futch Eddie Futch (August 9, 1911 – October 10, 2001) was an American boxing trainer. Among the fighters he trained are Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Larry Holmes, and Trevor Berbick, four of the five men to defeat Muhammad Ali. Futch also trained Riddick ...
, who was concerned about potential officiating bias and had strongly criticized the performance of referee
Tony Perez Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony the Tiger, cartoon mascot for Frosted Flakes cereal * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * ...
during Ali and Frazier's second fight, objected to all three American referees who had traveled to the Philippines. Futch suggested that a local official should be used, so Padilla, who was little known outside his home country, was chosen; Padilla only learned of his selection the day before the fight. Despite having 11 years of experience, it was Padilla's first time officiating a fight above the 135-lb. weight class. On his official scorecard for the fight (which Ali won by
TKO A technical knockout (TKO) is a professional fighting term. TKO may also refer to: Sports * TKO, the name of a professional wrestling move referring to either the cutter or stunner variant * TKO Group Holdings, a combat sports company Music Ar ...
after 14 rounds), Padilla scored in favor of Ali, 66-60. Encouraged by
Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. King's career highlights include, among multiple other enterprises, promoting "The Rumble in the Jungle" and the ...
(who had previously objected to Padilla's inclusion in the fight), Padilla relocated to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
afterwards, and went on to officiate many high-profile boxing matches through the next two-plus decades. He refereed his final bout on October 14, 2000, between
Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. ( ; ; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician, businessman, and professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He previously serv ...
and
Nedal Hussein Nedal "Skinny" Hussein (born 1 December 1977) is an Australian professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2007. Hussein won several titles, including: the Australian super bantamweight title, Australian bantamweight title, International Boxi ...
in the Philippines, a fight in which he admitted to cheating in order to help Pacquiao win.


Notable fights

*1979: Wilfred Benítez vs. Sugar Ray Leonard *1987: Mike Tyson vs. Pinklon Thomas *1980: Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Durán *1984:
Thomas Hearns vs. Roberto Durán Thomas Hearns vs. Roberto Durán, billed as ''Malice at the Palace'', was a professional boxing match contested on June 15, 1984 for the WBC and ''The Ring'' super welterweight titles. Background Roberto Durán had captured the WBA super welte ...
*1985:
Julio César Chávez Julio César Chávez González (; born July 12, 1962), also known as Julio César Chávez Sr., is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2005. A multiple-time world champion in three weight divisions, Chávez was liste ...
vs. Ruben Castillo *1981:
Dwight Muhammad Qawi Dwight Muhammad Qawi ( ; born Dwight Braxton; January 5, 1953) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1978 to 1998. He was a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC and ''Ring'' magazine light heavyweight ti ...
vs.
Matthew Saad Muhammad Matthew Saad Muhammad (born Maxwell Antonio Loach; June 16, 1954 – May 25, 2014) was an American professional boxer who was the WBC Light Heavyweight Champion of the World for two-and-a-half years. Background Saad Muhammad's mother died when ...
*1981: Salvador Sánchez vs. Wilfredo Gómez.


Personal life

Padilla is the son of actor and Olympic boxer Carlos Padilla Sr. He is also father to singer and actress
Zsa Zsa Padilla Esperanza "Zsa Zsa" Perez Padilla (born May 28, 1964) is a Filipino singer, actress, television host, music producer and businesswoman. Referred to as the "''Divine Diva''", Padilla is recognized as one of the top female recording artists in th ...
and a grandfather to
Karylle Ana Karylle Padilla Tatlonghari-Yuzon (born March 22, 1981), known mononymously as Karylle, is a Filipino singer and actress. Having achieved mainstream success across stage, screen, and music, her accolades include four Awit Awards, an Asian ...
and Zia. He was given a lifetime achievement award by the Philippine Sportswriters Association in 2011.


Filmography


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Padilla, Carlos Jr. 1934 births Living people Boxing referees Filipino male film actors Carlos Jr. Male actors from Manila