Manny Pacquiao will enter the ring for boxing’s “fight of the century” with an entire country in his corner as the country grinds to a halt to dementedly cheer on its favorite son against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Streets will be empty this morning as the nation of 100 million cheers its “Pambansang Kamao” (National Fist) in huge open-air screenings, cinemas, bars and homes.
Pacquiao’s image is ubiquitous, emblazoned across billboards lining major highways and on shirts, dolls and stamps in stores everywhere.
“The world will stop on Sunday. Everybody is excited,” 32-year-old taxi driver Glenn Yago said Saturday, adding he would not work until the fight is over to catch hordes of boxing fans leaving malls and bars.
“There will be mayhem in the streets after the fight,” he said.
The rags-to-riches story of Pacquiao, along with his famously humble manner, has made him a towering national hero.
For many of his fellow countrymen the 36-year-old, winner of an unprecedented eight world titles in different weight divisions, symbolizes their hope of escaping grinding poverty.
The country’s three biggest networks said they would air it on free television. Giant screens will be set up in covered courts, village halls and military and police camps.
On Palawan Island, the electricity utility has even urged its customers to turn off their refrigerators to avoid electricity shortages that could black out TV sets.
In Barangay Santa Catalina, Zamboanga City, still reeling from an MNLF siege two years ago, hundreds will cram into several houses with pay-per-view access to the fight, said village leader Jimmy Villaflores.
Police expect villains to be just as avidly following the action broadcast from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
“Pacquiao has a proven impact on the occurrence of crimes,” said Philippine National Police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Bartolome Tobias. “The crime rate goes down because everybody is holed up watching him fight.”
The fight has taken on an epic hue, pitching the modest David of the Philippines against an American Goliath, the brash and undefeated Mayweather.
Even God is on the side of the born-again Christian, according to many in Asia’s bastion of Roman Catholicism.
“He is a very prayerful man. He has the spirit, he has the faith,” said Mona Soriano, after she took part in a sparring session in a boxing gym.
The “Pacman,” who started his career as a fish port worker, is now also a member of parliament, actor, basketball professional and popular singer. His supporters want him to run for the presidency.
“He put the Philippines on the world map … I’m a huge fan. He is the best boxer in the world,” beef-stew hawker Arvel Oquendo said at his sidewalk stall in Manila.
“The whole country may be in disarray, but for a few hours, we will forget all our problems.”
But in a nation wearily used to overcoming adversity, Oquendo said he would remain a devoted Pacquiao fan come what may.
“It’s okay if he loses. We Filipinos know how to handle defeat. We rise from it,” he said. AFP