LORENZO “Chao” Sy has been a Manny Pacquiao fan for quite sometime now. But come Sunday, the Cebuano businessman will change loyalties as he will be rooting for Pacquiao’s Mexican opponent, Juan Manuel Marquez.

“Based on their previous fight, I will be for Marquez. He put up a good fight despite being the underdog in that match,” said Sy, referring to the first encounter between Pacquiao and Marquez which ended in a draw.

“Pacquiao was just lucky that he knocked Marquez down. Marquez was knocked down because he is not used to fighting left-handed opponents. Now that he already knows the style of Pacquiao, Marquez has a big chance of winning especially if the fight go the distance,” Sy added.

Pacquiao (45-3-2 35 KO’s) and Marquez (47-3-1 34 KO’s) battled to a draw in May 8, 2004 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. In that fight, Pacquiao downed Marquez three times in the first round but failed to finish off the determined Mexican and even looked in dire straits in the latter rounds.

The draw was attributed to the erroneous scoring by one of the three ringside judges.

Two judges scored the fight 115-110 for each fighter but the other judge, Bert Clements saw it 113-113.

Clements, who later admitted his mistake, scored the first round 10-7 for Pacquiao as opposed to a 10-6 score given by his counterparts.

Under boxing rules, a three knockdown round is an automatic 10-6 round. The extra point would have given Pacquiao the victory.

FAVORITE

Sy, however, believes that Pacquiao will remain the favorite against Marquez following the Filipino's stirring victories over Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales.

“Of course, Pacquiao will be the favorite because he is strong and fast. But I believe Marquez has what it takes to beat Pacquiao,” said Sy, who owns Hotel Fortuna and La Fortuna Bakery.

Sy is even ready to bet precious cash for Marquez on a '10-3' bet.

“In that scenario, I will place my bet on Marquez but my P3,000 should win P10,000 or my P30,000 should win P100,000”, said Sy.
Sy said that he is willing to bet up to P100,000.

“This is just a friendly bet. Just to add fun and excitement to the fight,” said Sy.

Sy admitted that he was for Pacquiao when the Filipino boxer went up against Morales and Barrera, winning up to P20,000 in money bet.

Just like Sy, Boy Murillo also sees a Marquez victory saying the latter might opt to run being the defending champion.

“Normally, if you are the defending champion, you will just keep on moving inside the ring and avoid a blow-by-blow fight,” said Murillo.

COCKFIGHTERS PICK

Marquez is the World Boxing Council (WBC) super-featherweight champion.

The upcoming Pacquiao-Marquez fight is also the topic among the cockfighting aficionados inside the D and C Coliseum in Mandaue City.

“Pacquiao remains the overwhelming favorite. We even have a hard time finding someone who is willing to bet against Pacquiao. There are some who are willing to place their bet on Marquez but they are asking too much. They want their P500 to win P1,000,” said one fan.

Taxi driver Crispin Casinillo, has one major concern on fight day. And its not whether Pacman will win or not. Casinillo is more concerned about his source of income after it was proven in previous Pacquiao fights that people tend to stay home to watch the encounter during the fight day.