No doubt about it

MACAU – It was clear from the first round that Chris Algieri had realized that he and his camp had underestimated Manny Pacquiao. And if the way Manny danced and skipped around him, warding off his blows in his concise and graceful ways, did not do it, the chants and yells of the predominantly Manny idolizers would demoralized him anyway. The arena that was packed to the rafters broke out into “Manny! Manny!” every few minutes, as if to further inspire him.

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I do remember the time when Manny played against Manuel Marquez when the fight was so heated and at times Marquez seemed to be scoring and Manny was looking tired, we all shouted Manny! Manny! and he really perked up. Later, at lunch at the residence of his doctor, he told me that whenever he hears that, he remembers that he is fighting for his fellow Filipinos and prays for the strength and accuracy to go on.

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I don’t think I should write about the fight as I’m sure almost everybody back home had been watching it and had seen how their Pacman removed the cockiness of Chris Algieri and showed him who is who in the ring. The crowd that came to watch was, of course, composed of thousands of Filipinos and also Chinese residents. But there were hundreds of foreigners, too, who all were rooting for Pacquiao and joined us in chanting his name.

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Afterwards, we heard comments like “Where was that” secret weapon Algieri’s trainers were bragging about? It did not stop Manny from sending him to the mat four times. “In the second round, he already fell with a big thud. But he is young and can recover quickly. This is a lesson to young upstarts not go beyond their limits so quickly. Manny, with his quick and precise moves, was really no match for him.

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After seeing the fight, will Floyd Mayweather still agree to meet our Pacman as his camp had been hinting? Those who saw his last fight claim that all he did was dodge, he did not engage, and just waited for his opponent to get tired of chasing him before giving in. He surely cannot do that with Pacquaio, who will rush in and get his blows through. We will soon hear what the Mayweather camp will say about this.

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How much Pinoys admire and support Manny can be shown in the number who travelled from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao to watch and cheer for him. On the PAL plane coming here, our fellow passengers were from Davao, Zamboanga, Cebu, Iloilo and other cities. And we became friends as fellow admirers of the champion. Also on the plane were those of other countries, like Japan, two Russian businessmen, who had become friends of Bing L. also came over, and who knows from what other countries the others came.

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Meanwhile, we were a bit embarrassed but also proud when so many people, both Pinoys and foreigners, asked to have their photos taken with him. Seems everybody there was happy with the unanimous decision of the judges, who could have been lynched by the crowd had they decided otherwise.*

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