INQUIRER Sports

LAS VEGAS? FOR NONITO Donaire Jr. and Brian Viloria, Manny Pacquiao is a role model and inspiration.

The two Filipinos, both raised in the United States, saw their countryman?s two-round demolition of Ricky Hatton Saturday night (Sunday in Manila) and was mesmerized by what they saw.

There was Pacquiao, unmarked, raising his arms in triumph while Hatton lay flat on his back in the middle of the ring still unconscious after absorbing a left hook to the jaw that packs the power of a sledgehammer.

?It (Pacquiao?s performance) greatly humbles and motivates us,? said the 28-year-old Viloria, a prime prospect several years back who again reached the top only last month when he took the International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior flyweight crown at the Araneta Coliseum.

?I thought he was going to win in about 9 to 10 rounds,? said Viloria, ?But he proved to be too fast and powerful for Hatton.?

Donaire, on the other hand, said there?s no doubt that Pacquiao is the best in the world today.

?He?s already a legend in the sport, not only in Asia but the world,? said Donaire, the IBF and International Boxing Organization flyweight champion.

?What he has done motivates us to persevere all the more to bring glory to the country, ? echoed the two flashy fighters.

Top Rank?s Bob Arum, who has grown fond of Filipino fighters since taking Pacquiao under his wings, said he?s likely to include Donaire and Viloria in a fight card to be held at the San Francisco Giant?s AT&T Park on Aug. 27.

?Manila is now the hotbed of boxing and I expect more Filipino fighters to follow the footsteps of Pacquiao in a few years,? said Arum.