PACMAN IN AMERICA -- PART THREE<br>Pinoy Get-Together in Florida

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Manny Pacquiao

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This episode was contributed by a Paclander who goes by the handle of Mirko.

I haven’t been in the United States long enough to honestly say that I have an accurate picture of the American boxing fan's preferences, but my recent experiences have given me a decent idea.

I first had a chance to observe it during Manny's 3rd fight with Eric Morales. I had been invited to a Filipino friend's house to watch the said fight along with a sizable group of people, who were a mix of Filipinos and Americans. Some of these Americans had already seen Manny in action in his previous fights, while some were only seeing him for the first time, although they had been thoroughly briefed by the others, as to what to expect in a Pacquiao fight.

I was pretty surprised to see that the enthusiasm and anticipation was homogeneously shared by all the people there, Pinoy or American, hardcore or casual boxing fan alike.

One American, a former US marine, told me that he had actually lost interest in boxing in recent years, and that the last boxer that he had watched was Naseem Hamed. But he admitted that Manny's aggressive boxing style had renewed his interest in the sport.

Pacquiao (R) does the sign of the cross before the bell rings on Pacquiao's third encounter with Erik Morales. Photo by Dong Secuya..

And so, the match had started and of course, we all know the result. But what was amazing to me was the fact that most of the American guests were actually shouting and cheering louder than the Filipinos. Although the fight was a short one, the satisfaction felt by the viewers was undeniable.

One American even said that watching Manny fight has made other fights look slow and dragging. But another thing that really amazed me was the fact that because of the Pacquiao fight, some of our american friends had actually tried eating some of the Filipino dishes served that evening, including our “dinuguan” which they fondly called “chocolate meat”. I guess Manny influences people in more ways than I expected.