High spirit turns to gloom: Mayweather ‘too slippery, wily’ for Pacquiao

Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight night at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mayweather wins by unanimous decision. PHOTO BY REM ZAMORA/INQUIRER/See more at FRAME

LUCENA CITY, Philippines – Stunned silence, followed by hissing boos. Then gloom descended.

One by one, the dejected supporters of the beaten Philippine boxing idol silently walked towards the exit gate of the air-conditioned Quezon Convention Center (QCC) in Lucena City, the biggest venue of the free public live viewing via satellite in Quezon province.

A pall of gloom blanketed the whole convention center in stark contrast to only just an hour earlier when the high spirit was palpable among the thousands who gathered inside the QCC to root for Manny Pacquiao.

“Manny was cheated,” mumbled many of Pacquiao’s fans in Lucena City, reflecting the prevailing sentiment among the millions of Filipinos who watched the 12-round fight between the Filipino boxing icon and American Floyd Mayweather.

But in Catanduanes, most of the disappointed crowd watching the fight at the Virac Sports Center respected the decision, saying Mayweather won because he was “too slippery” and “wily.”

A disappointed boxing aficionado in Quezon was overheard telling his companion that the much-touted greatest battle did not live to its billing.

“There was no war. Definitely, it was not the fight of the century,” said the fan.

The dome-like QCC, which is being managed by the provincial government, was filled to the rafters and accommodated an estimated 8,000 to 9,000 spectators.

Even the rich and the middle class also took advantage of the free live viewing of the match, as shown by the number of sports utility vehicles (SUV) parked outside the QCC for the duration of the fight.

Ambulant food vendors outside of the venue made a killing attending to the throng of hungry boxing fans.

In Naga City, residents who packed a hotel restaurant here for the live viewing also sat silent when it was announced that Mayweather won the fight. They cheered when Pacquiao, in a post fight interview, said he knew he won the bout. And fell silent again.

Local businessman Robert Obiedo, who was among those who watched the fight at the hotel, said Pacquiao obviously won the hearts of the millions of viewers and he expected the judges to be bombarded with negative criticisms in the national and international media for their unanimous decision to declare Mayweather the winner.
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