Carlos "Sonny" Dolorico Padilla Jr. (; born April 19, 1934) is a retired actor and

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

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 titl ...

and judge from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. He is best known for refereeing the "

Thrilla in Manila Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier lll, billed as the "Thrilla in Manila", was the third and final boxing match between WBA, WBC, and '' The Ring'' heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, and Joe Frazier, for the heavyweight championship of the world. T ...

" between

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

and

Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011), nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. He was known for his strength, durability, formidable left hand, and relentless pressure fi ...

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 Riddic ...

, who was concerned about potential officiating bias, objected to all three American referees who had traveled to the Philippines, so Padilla -- then a little-known local official -- was selected as a late replacement, finding out 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 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 (entertainment), promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cas ...

(who had previously objected to Padilla's inclusion in the fight), Padilla relocated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

afterwards, and went on to officiate many high-profile boxing matches through the next two-plus decades, including

Sugar Ray Leonard Ray Charles Leonard (born May 17, 1956), best known as "Sugar" Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer, motivational speaker, and occasional actor. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professiona ...

vs.

Wilfred Benítez Wilfred "Wilfredo" Benítez (born September 12, 1958) is an American-born Puerto Rican former professional boxer and the youngest world champion in the sport's history. Earning his first of three career world titles in separate weight division ...

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is cons ...

vs. Pinklon Thomas,

vs.

Roberto Durán Roberto Durán Samaniego (born June 16, 1951) is a Panamanian former professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 2001. He held world championships in four weight classes: lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight and middleweight, as wel ...

Thomas Hearns Thomas Hearns (born October 18, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 2006. Nicknamed the "Motor City Cobra", and more famously "The Hitman", Hearns's tall, slender build and oversized arms and shoulders allowed ...

vs.

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,

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 title ...

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 ...

and

Salvador Sánchez vs. Wilfredo Gómez The Battle of the Little Giants was a 1981 boxing event with a deep social impact. Fought on August 21, 1981, at the Caesars Palace hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, it pitted Wilfredo Gómez, a Puerto Rican who had a record of 32 wins, 0 losses, 1 ...

. He refereed his final bout on October 14, 2000, between

Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Philip ...

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 Boxin ...

in the Philippines, a fight in which he admitted to cheating in order to help Pacquiao win.

Personal life

Padilla is the son of actor and Olympic boxer

Carlos Padilla Sr. Carlos Pedro Eugenio Ruiz Padilla Sr. (; September 6, 1909 - March 8, 1964) was a Filipino Olympic boxer and actor. Padilla was also a film director, with his first film being ''Susi ng Kalangitan'' which was made in 1937. Personal life From a ...

He is also father to singer and actress Zsa Zsa Padilla and a grandfather to

Karylle Ana Karylle Padilla Tatlonghari (born March 22, 1981), known mononymously as a Karylle, is a Filipino singer, actress, TV host and musical theatre performer. She is heralded as "''OPMs Showbiz Royalty''". She notably received a nomination for ...

and

Zia Zia or ZIA (also spelled Ziya, Ḍiya , Dia or Diya) may refer to: People * Zia (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** A romanization of the Wu ( Shanghainese) pronunciation of the Chinese surname Xie (謝) ...

. 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.