LOS ANGELES — Nothing wrong if you had to walk a mile for a Camel, explained an old lung cancer commercial.
But what?s wrong with voting and betting for a countryman in a forthcoming monumental boxing contest?
Out here Wednesday, and maybe in the weeks before, you could walk five or 10 miles and still find not a single Mexicano ready and willing to put his tequila and beer allowance on Marco Antonio Barrera.
Sorry to report this, but siding with Barrera in his forthcoming fight with Manny Pacquiao has also started to be treated here as a non-adventure, a blind gamble, if not outright financial suicide.
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You could blame or credit that on the widely-read boxing wit Michael Marley, who last week pummeled a Filipino lawyer from Cebu for challenging him to a fistfight before cowering and immediately going out of sight.
Marley bought the taunt that Barrera had only two chances left.
Slim and none.
That, you bet, was gleefully peddled by Pinoy Hermie Rivera, a Marley favorite.
However, Marley would up the ante in a hilarious but believable claim.
Sorry, he said, but Slim has gone out of town!
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So who else were trying to mercilessly unsell Senor Barrera?
?No way, hopeless,? Henry Bidoy, a Mexican website reporter, swore after watching Pacquiao cover all possible Barrera escape routes during a non-stop punching drill.
Videos were disallowed around the gym by trainer Freddie Roach, but tales of an impending mismatch come Oct. 6 in Las Vegas (Oct. 7 in Manila) would surely spread far and wide.
Jose Gomez, jolly paisano who takes charge of the old laundromat on the ground floor of Wild Card, just shook his head and said he would not be caught betting on Barrera.
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Well, it could be plain coincidence, but off Santa Monica last Sunday morning, Manny Pacquiao dropped by a property he had bought here where outside the ten-room apartment building gathered five Mexicans of various age.
After recognizing and shaking hands with Pacquiao, they were buttonholed by Hermie Rivera, who arrived from Newark on Saturday.
Hermie happily reported, there was one among the five, the eldest in the group — a balding retiree who must be over 65 — who picked Barrera.
But, mind you, he did so only out of sentimentality and undying patriotic fervor.
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To repeat, even his countrymen would have to let make-believe reign for Barrera to corner enough bets in his rematch with Pacquiao.
Who knows? Erik Morales must?ve himself caused all the rising discrepancy after he had openly picked Pacquiao.
In case you?ve forgotten, Morales has had three fights with both Pacquiao and Barrera.
He won the first one over Pacquiao, who got cut and terribly bloodied in that encounter.
Morales, however, miserably lost by stoppage in the next two bouts.
Barrera was 2-1 over Morales, but all their encounters went the distance.
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Well, we walked more than 10 miles and there was only one Mexican nationalist who bravely sided with his fellow paisano.
?Hindi matatapos ang round (It won?t last the distance),? Filipino trainer Ben Delgado, who handled Pacquiao in his fight against Leloh Ledwabah in 2002, claimed.
He said Barrera would have to be extra lucky to be still standing by the 8th round.
That?s it, folks. But listen before you place your bets.
Barrera may not have to walk 10 miles in order to dig for a chance at an upset win.
He has two chances.
One: If Pacquiao suffers the misfortune of getting gored and cut.
Two: If Pacquiao does not come in aptly prepared to block or avoid Barrera?s patented left uppercut.
There was no visible effort to work out a defense against this dreaded weapon in Wednesday?s well-applauded Pacquiao workout.
