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About
Muhammad Ali, 1966. Photograph by Ron Kroon / Anefo. Nationaal Archief (Dutch National Archives). Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 (CC BY-SA 3.0).
In October 1973, Donald Moore and Rezgui Guizani jointly presented an international boxing programme at the National Stadium, headlined by Muhammad Ali during the Singapore leg of his Asian tour. The programme featured three international bouts at National Stadium:
- a 10-round lightweight contest between Malaithong (Thailand) and Masashi Kamiyama (Japan)
- a 10-round bantamweight contest between Tahar Guizani (Tunisia) and Harry Hayes (Australia); and
- a special 10-round exhibition in which Muhammad Ali boxed Tony Doyle and Alonzo Johnson
Ali arrived in Singapore from Jakarta on 22 October 1973 at 8:55 a.m. During his visit, a cocktail reception was held at the Mandarin Hotel on the evening of 22 October, followed by a luncheon hosted by Cathay Pacific Airways the next day, one of the principal sponsors of his Asian tour.
Prior to arriving in Singapore, Ali had appeared in Surabaya, where his exhibition attracted approximately 45,000 spectators, and in Jakarta, where attendance was reported at around 30,000.
Moore explained in a news report that they are expecting a record crowd of 30,000 and arranged the seating at the National Stadium to provide optimal viewing for spectators (Roberts 1973, 26). However, fewer than 3,000 spectators attended the Singapore event. Reports expressed disappointment at the low turnout, recalling Singapore’s former reputation as “the Asian centre of boxing,” when the 15,000-seat National Stadium drew capacity crowds for major boxing events (Lim 1973, 12).
Following the Singapore engagement, Ali departed for Kota Kinabalu on 25 October, then continued on to Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.
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Showtimes and Venues
| Date | Time | Frequency | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| From 24-Oct-1973 to 24-Oct-1973 | From 20:00 | – | Former National Stadium, Singapore |
Schedule
| Running Order | Schedule Item | Type | Date and Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| – | – | – |
Person and Troupe
| Name | Type | Role in Performance |
|---|---|---|
| – |
| Performer (collaborateWith) | Purpose |
|---|---|
| – |
Support (hasSupport)
| Supporter Name | Type of Support | Support Description |
|---|---|---|
| Donald Moore (Individual) | – | – |
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Sources
Lim, Kee Chan. 1973. “Only 3000—and It Is Boxing’s Big Flop.” New Nation, October 26, 12. NewspaperSG. https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/newnation19731026-1.2.40.1
Roberts, Godfrey. 1973. “Ali: Record Crowd Is Expected.” The Straits Times, October 20, 26. NewspaperSG. https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19731020-1.2.108
Contributor
2026. “Muhammad Ali – 1973 – National Stadium (Singapore)”. In Performing Archipelagos, edited by Kyueun Kim, Alvin Eng Hui Lim and Hedren Wai Yuan Sum. Singapore: National University of Singapore.
