Macau—When Manny Pacquiao fights Brandon Rios this Sunday, one thing is certain: the Filipino boxing icon won’t be wanting for fan support.
Hundreds of Filipino boxing fans have reportedly swamped Asia’s leisure and gaming capital for days now to witness Pacquiao fight the Mexican-American slugger for the WBO welterweight crown at The Cotai Arena inside the Venetian Hotel in Macau, China.
Cebuano architects Roseler Rosol and Allan Cuyos jetted in from Cebu last Wednesday night along with their wives. Rosol also brought along his 12-year-old son while Cuyos’ wife was with her cousin.
They are part of a massive wave of Filipino boxing fanatics who arrived that day, four days before fight night.
“Anhi mi para mu tan-aw sa away ni Manny ug paghatag sad sa amung suporta niya. (We are here to see Manny fight and also to give him our support,” Cuyos told Cebu Daily News during a chance meeting inside the Venetian Hotel.
The Venetian Macao is also home to 4,000 Filipino workers and while majority of them won’t be able to watch the marquee showdown this Sunday due to the prohibitive prices of tickets, it needs no ribbing to know who these gallant OFWs would be rooting for.
Marvin Lao, 28, of Parañaque, Manila works as a waiter in one of the restaurants inside the Venetian. The father of two said he and his gang of seven Filipino waiters who share a flat, would have wanted to see Manny demolish the loud-mouth Rios.
“Pero masyado pong mahal ang ticket bossing, di talaga makaya. Kaya dasal na lang ang tanging maibibigay namin kay Manny. Sana manalo siya para sa bansa natin na sobra na pong lugmok dahil sa mga kalamidad,” he said. (Tickets are so expensive boss, we really can’t afford to purchase one, that’s why we will just pray for Manny to win for our suffering countrymen).
Pacquiao (54 wins, 5 losses, 2 draws, 38KOs) himself is feeling the pressure of delivering this Sunday for his suffering compatriots back home. He has said time and time again that he is dedicating this Sunday’s fight to the millions of Filipinos devastated by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) which practically obliterated central Philippines and has claimed more than 4,000 lives.
Meanwhile, the official weigh-in for the “Clash in Cotai” card will be held at 7:30 a.m. at the Cotai Arena.