At a strip mall, fans keep vigil

LOS ANGELES—Some of the best things—and biggest mysteries—in this city can be found hidden in the nondescript strip malls that line miles of thoroughfares, most famously exotic ethnic restaurants tucked into plain storefronts.

But a different, if no less fascinating, scene could be found the other afternoon at a two-story mall north of Santa Monica and Vine in Hollywood. There, on the second level, above a laundry, a barber shop, a Thai restaurant and an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting place, is the Wild Card Boxing Club.

A security guard in the driveway was the first sign that something was going on. Close to 100 people were gathered in the tiny parking lot, no matter that this was the middle of a weekday. Nearly all of them were men, ranging in age from 18 to 40, holding cameras and pens and in search of an autograph.

Out-of-the-way

This out-of-the-way spot was not just any boxing club. This was where Manny Pacquiao—the Pacman, as he is known—works out. Pacquiao was there preparing to defend his World Boxing Organization welterweight championship title against Shane Mosley on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao is a hero in boxing circles (and political circles: he is a member of the Philippines House of Representatives), and he was certainly a celebrity in this crowd, which had a heavy representation of Filipinos.

Guards at the bottom of the steps made sure that only members of the gym and Pacquiao’s friends and trainers were permitted to enter. From the parking lot, devoted fans craned their necks to see if they could catch a glimpse of the boxer at the window. They settled for the sound of a punching bag snapping in the air and the ding of a bell.

The fans showed up shortly after noon, waiting patiently for the boxer to emerge. Finally, as the clock approached 5:30, they began to drift off, sated simply by being close. New York Times News Service