LAS VEGAS ? Outside the entrance to the MGM Grand Garden Arena, workers set up a row of turnstiles and ropes Friday as they prepared for a crush of boxing fans.
It was 9:45 a.m., and a crowd of nearly 100 had already lined up behind the turnstiles, determined to get a close-up view of Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley when they weighed in at 2:30 p.m.
?You guys realize the doors don’t open till 12?? a security officer asked the crowd.
?We do,? some fans replied.
The anticipation was palpable for tonight’s welterweight championship fight at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino. Guests posed for pictures in front of the boxing ring set up in the hotel lobby, and hundreds of devoted fans, many of whom were Filipino-Americans, came for the weigh-in. The scene also attracted curious onlookers who had traveled to Las Vegas for other events this weekend.
Felix Tuazon, his wife, Marissa, their three daughters and a group of their friends had arrived at 8:30 a.m. to secure their spot at the front of the line. Tuazon and his family will host a party tonight for dozens of friends at their Las Vegas home.
Tuazon, who was born in the Philippines and moved to the U.S. in 1985, was wearing a black hat with Pacquiao’s initials and a red Nike T-shirt emblazoned with the phrase ?Ninong Knows.? In Tagalog, ninong means godfather, and Pacquiao is admired for his generosity. The fighter even stars in his own game show called ?Manny Many Prizes.?
Tuazon, 38, has attended all of Pacquiao’s weigh-ins since his fight against Oscar De La Hoya in 2008. If the superstar ever agrees to fight Floyd Mayweather, Tuazon will fork over hundreds of dollars to buy tickets.
?I’ll take a chunk of my 401(k) or something,? he said.
Tuazon expects more than 50 guests at his house tonight to watch the fight on his 62-inch TV. He will be serving a variety of Filipino dishes, including pulutan, which are traditional appetizers; adobo, chicken or pork in a sauce of vinegar, soy sauce and garlic; pancit, rice noodles served with chicken or shrimp; lumpia, which are eggrolls; and traditional barbecue skewers served with soy sauce, lime peppers and spicy hot banana ketchup.
