SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA?RAFAEL H. has done the unthinkable. So we?ll have to shield his surname to protect him from the fallout of a foolish move.
Lordy, lordy. The 58-year-old Rafael has bet $200 for Ricky Hatton?a heavy underdog in his May 2 ?Battle of East and West? with Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao.
If fight odds now hold up till fight time, our brave bettor will reap $370, should the British slugger score a stunning upset at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Call Rafael H. a maverick. A traitor to the Pinoy cause.
Even a heretic in the Church of Pacquiao.
?It?s just my nature to bet on underdogs, that?s all,? Rafael, a certified nurse assistant, said in Filipino. ?My gut feeling said Hatton when I plunked down my hard-earned money at the sports book at Circus Circus Hotel in Reno.?
Rafael and his ilk are as rare as hen?s teeth in this capital city?s Filipino community. Almost everyone of Pinoy persuasion here are all out in their support for the national fist and usually put their dough where their mouth is.
So much so that Metro Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area to the west of here and San Diego to the south near the Mexican border are among Pacquiao?s strongholds in California when it comes to pay-per-view buys for his bouts.
Now about protecting the innocent?
Well, our friend Rafael and his wife will be on vacation in the Philippines at the time Manny climbs up the ring to face Ricky.
Rafael H. said he?d watch the fight with friends, relations and the inevitable hangers-on at the old, gritty neighborhood somewhere in Manila.
He?d surely stew in his own juice should Pacquiao win and rejoice in silence should Hatton pull it off.
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Meantime, here?s a news bulletin with three bells.
It?s for the hotheads in Pacquiao?s entourage and to his legions of fans who will be in the war zone called MGM Grand six days from now.
The Los Angeles Times did some sleuthing and found out that each time Hatton fights in Las Vegas, records are broken for beer consumption.
That only means one thing?the British are coming to Sin City in droves to support their Manchester-bred friend (45-1, 32 KOs) in his faceoff with the Filipino idol (48-3-2, 36 K0s).
For good measure, the Times asked someone in the Hatton camp the ?difference between British boxing fans and British soccer hooligans.?
?Not much,? was the curt reply.
Forearmed is forewarned.
To Pacquiao diehards, who think a physical altercation with British fans is on the cards, think again.
The Clark County Jail would be more than willing to play gracious host to anyone so inclined to be in the Pacquiao-Hatton undercard in the heat of the moment.
