November 13 was a big day in the Philippines as it was a chance for Pinoys to see their national hero in action, Manny Pacquiao. Not surprisingly, the boxing legend's face was visible everywhere you went.
The World Championship fight was billed to be the classic final and decisive victory for Pacquiao in his trilogy of bouts against the Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez. The early start didn't deter his admirers from turning out in force and fans were in confident mood at 7.30am on Sunday morning, posing for pictures in front of advertising posters.
The fight could only be viewed on pay-per-view and bars in Greenbelt were charging anywhere between 400 and 700 Pesos to guarantee you a seat in front of the TV screen. Bear in mind that the receptionist in my apartment block is paid just 350 Pesos for a 12-hour night shift and that will give you some idea as to how much that sum represents for Filipinos. Nevertheless, this was the scene at one such bar a full 5 hours before Pacquiao was due to step into the ring.
Unwilling to pay those prices, I ventured downtown and ended up paying 200 pesos to watch the action in a rather seedy looking dive called Rogues in the red light district.
Everyone was being consumed by the atmosphere and the waitresses were all sporting Pacquiao
T-shirts specially produced for the big day.
As the big moment approached I walked out into the middle of Makati Avenue, at this time completely deserted in both directions.
At any other time of the day or night, it's one of Manila's busiest streets polluted with the stench of exhaust fumes and petrol, but not when Pacquiao is fighting. It seems that even the taxi drivers stop working.
The fight itself was a complete and utter anti-climax. Pacquiao failed to live up to all expectations but despite taking something of a beating from Marquez during the middle rounds, the judges nevetheless controversially awarded a points decision in his favour. As the verdict was announced, the tension for some was almost too much to bear.
With Pacquiao declared the winner, everybody was happy, (with the possible exception of Marquez, his whole entourage, thousands of booing fans sitting ringside at the MGM Grand, and just about the entire population of Mexico). However, this was of little concern to Pinoys and normality resumed in Manila...
... as the taxi drivers and motorists ventured out onto the streets again, bringing Makati Avenue back to life.
Money it seems makes the world go round and if we are to believe what we read, they are already planning fight number 4. (I wonder why?) Nonetheless, impoverished Filipinos will never tire of spending their hard-earned cash on a pay-per-view barstool to see Pacman in action, so watch this space to view photos of the whole thing repeated all over again for a 3rd time! Either that or I'll be taking pictures of the crowds celebrating as he's crowned Philippine President. He's already a Congressmen, so given his popularity, it's not entirely unthinkable.
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