CEBU CITY, Philippines–Cebuano sports gamblers find no takers for their bets as local boxing aficionados are almost certain that boxing hero Manny Pacquiao will win Sunday?s (Saturday in Las Vegas) fight against Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera.
City Councilor Raul Alcoseba said predictions of Pacquiao’s victory have made it difficult for many of his friends to find someone who would accept their bets.
Alcoseba, vice chairperson of the city council’s committee on games, amusement and sports, said one of his friends even agreed to collect only 30 percent of his P100,000 bet if Pacquiao won the fight but there was no taker.
“Pacquiao is heavily favored to win and only a few people were willing to bet on Barrera,” said Alcoseba.
There was also another betting scheme where the winner would only collect one-third of the bet amount if Pacquiao won. Under this scheme, a person who places a bet of P300 on Pacquiao will only win P100, he said.
But “people are scared to bet on Barrera because they are almost sure that Pacquiao is going to win,” he said.
The betting now appeared to be focused on what round in the fight Pacquiao will knock Barrera down.
Boxing promoter Rex “Wakee” Salud admitted that he made a P5,000 bet that Pacquiao would win within the fifth to ninth rounds.
“If Manny wins in the 10th to the 12th round, I’ll lose,? said Salud, a good friend of Pacquiao.
It was at Salud’s WRS Gym in Cebu where Pacquiao trained for a month in August up to early September.
The 33-year-old Barrera lost in his last fight against Juan Marquez while the 28-year-old Pacquiao has won his last five fights.
Local boxing aficionados think that Pacquiao’s string of victories and his age are two very important factors that will make Pacquiao win.
While he did not join the betting, Alcoseba said he would surely watch the fight. He predicted that Pacquiao would win in round 6.
Hundreds of Cebuanos were also expected to be glued to their television sets Sunday morning to watch their boxing idol fight Barrera at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Television network GMA Network has been given the exclusive right to air the fight via a delayed telecast Sunday morning.
Others who want to watch the Pacquiao-Barrera fight on a much bigger screen may visit establishments and places with much bigger television screens for fess ranging from P50 to P600.
The Cebu City Council decided on Oct. 3 not to grant exemptions from the 10-percent amusement tax if they earn money by airing the fight live on cable television.
“It’s either we give exemptions to all of them or none at all. Can we just tell them (applicants for exemption) that much as we want to be kind, we don’t want to be accused of being selective,” said Vice Mayor Michael Rama.
Councilor Rodrigo Abellanosa said City Hall inspectors would be fielded to establishments collecting fees from people who watch the fight live.
Even without tax exemptions, several establishments have already decided to set up viewing sites for the fight.
Cebu’s neighboring cities, such as Lapu-lapu, also set up wide screens for live public viewing. The Lapu-lapu city government has set an entrance fees of P50 to P100 for the public at the Lapu-Lapu Sports Complex.
Salud, who is now in Las Vegas as part of Pacquiao’s entourage, also rented the Cebu Coliseum and the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex to air the fight on giant screens.
Viewers will be charged P300 for ?ringside? seats while the lower and upper box seats will cost P100.
Marriott Hotel also installed two giant screens at its grand ballroom for the fight. Customers will be charged P600 as entrance fee, inclusive of bottomless drinks.
