The Pacman-Hitman Experience

By Michele Chong

Something for everyone during the Vegas weekend!

Proclaimed “The Battle of East and West,” the Pacquiao-Hatton fight offered a little something for everyone as both Filipino and British fans all converged at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The marquee matchup featuring Manny Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs) versus Ricky Hatton (45-2-0, 32 KOs) brought out hordes of people all anticipating a possible fight of the year.

There’s nothing quite like a big fight weekend in Vegas: It’s exciting, overwhelming, exhausting, and just plain crazy–I love it!

Here’s a rundown of my experiences this past weekend in Sin City.

Friday: It’s weigh-in day!

Arriving in town late Thursday night and staying on the Strip at Bally’s, I’m excited to get to the MGM for the official weigh-in. My boyfriend and I always enjoy seeing all of our boxing pals during the high-profile fights. Imagine running into tons of your favorite friends all at the same time, in one location, and at a great event. Outside of the MGM we meet a cheerful, shirtless bloke from London who is wearing only white sneakers, thin cotton shorts and a red and white flag. He’s soaking up the desert sun and happy to be at the fight. He says, “There are four of us here from England. We all came out for the Malignaggi fight too. Before Vegas, we went to L.A. and got to visit the Wild Card gym.” I ask him what songs they’re planning to sing. “The ‘Wonderland’ song is our favorite, but we have lots of new ones we’ll be singing too!” he promises us as we enter the front desk area where the MGM gold lion is perched in a boxing ring. Everyone’s in great spirits, some donning Ricky Hatton masks while anticipating the action. It’s a blast.

The arena fills up quickly. I meet a lovely blonde couple from Manchester who tell me they’re in Vegas for a whole week. They paid 600 pounds each ($900 in U.S. currency) for the flight and hotel room. Pretty good deal to be part of this once-in-a-lifetime weekend. The Hatton band is there and apparently the whole British empire! I love being around the visitors from the U.K. We were at the Mayweather-Hatton fight and meeting the Englishmen was a fun highlight of that trip. I couldn’t wait to hear and see what the fellows would do as their hometown hero faces the best pound-for-pound boxer out there.

Forgot to disclose that I was recovering from a bad case of bronchitis (with a bruised rib and strained muscle). I only feel the piercing pain when I breathe, eat, drink, walk, talk, and laugh! Since I’m pass the contagious phase, I tough it out because I don’t want to miss out on this historic matchup. And if you want a quick cure for what ails you–hang out with the Brits, the most jolly chaps you’ll ever meet! Before the weigh-in, the singing begins and they do indeed have a ton of new songs besides their “Hatton Wonderland” tune. Backed by the Hatton band of musicians, the Great Britain residents alternate between their national anthem of “God Save the Queen” to several other humorous ditties they’ve all memorized. Such a fun, friendly bunch!

While waiting for the boxers to hop on the scales, the Manchester pair explain the English football club rivalries between Manchester United (Red) and Manchester City (Blue). Ricky’s father and grandfather both played for Man City and that’s why he dons the light blue trunks. And the Manchester City Football Club was well-represented with plenty of MCFC flags, shirts and banners waved throughout the masses. But, during a Hatton fight, Man United and Man City put aside their differences and become one unit–no hooligans today. Ricky’s the one uniting force between the sworn enemies who all wave their Union Jack flags with national pride.

The weigh-in begins as Michael Buffer starts the event saying, “We just got word that the swine flu went to visit the Philippines and the U.K. and NO ONE was there!” The audience laughs and cheers as the action gets underway. Actor Mario Lopez, Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley, Bernard Hopkins, Juan Manuel Marquez, Amir Khan and Juan Diaz are all introduced to the crowd. The Brits serenade the “Golden Boy” with a couple of songs in appreciation for the newly-retired champ who tells the crowd, “I’m glad I retired so I could go have a pint!”

But 99.9% of the love is saved for only one: Ricky Hatton. “Who are ya, who are ya, who are ya” was the steady chant often heard rumbling through the audience when anyone–not named Hatton–manned the microphone. In this case, “Who are ya” turns out to be the equivalent of “politely” saying “Get the f— off the stage, we want Ricky!”

Once the “Hitman” appears, bedlam ensues. At the weigh-in, there is a small section of fans from General Santos City and Manila, but the majority of the volume comes from the Brits.

After the weigh-in, we head out into the parade of Brits, Filipinos, and more. There are a lot of wacky outfits being shown off; it’s a costume party similar to the famous Comic-Con Convention! There’s a little something for everyone: boxing icons and legends, rising stars of the sport, superhero characters, TV and film celebrities, scantily-clad girls, cheerleaders, both female and male (in skirts and wigs!), energy drink models and tons of flag-waving, beer-carrying, happily-singing Brits.

Two other Filipino fighters get noticed near the casino: Nonito Donaire and Brian Viloria, who are both coming off of their April victories. Nonito and wife Rachel need a bodyguard to wade through the crowd as the fans flock around the flyweight. Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz is also a crowd favorite who poses for photos with the fans.

We leave the MGM to go to the fights at South Point and I’m looking forward to visiting this hotel for the first time–I hear they even have a bowling alley and full-sized movie theater in the casino. A lot of our friends go to the Hard Rock to catch the Urbano Antillon fight and the Alfonso Gomez undercard and I ask them to call me with results. The action at South Point is great! Four amazing fights and the whole Wild Card bunch is there. I’ll have more on that in the next article.

Saturday: It’s Fight Day!

Our hotel is connected to the Paris Las Vegas Hotel so we go to their famous Le Village Buffet. Loading up on carbs seems like a good idea at the time. We make our way to the MGM which is now at a frenzied pitch. We meet two of our friends and they introduce us to the classy Carlos “Famoso” Hernandez who passes by our group. The crowd is growing fast, and today it’s the Filipino fans who seem more vocal, buoyant, confident, rowdy and energetic, just like the hearty contingent of Brits were at yesterday’s weigh-in. Perhaps this was a sign of things to come. There’s a Tecate girl who’s handing out stickers that say Hatton and Pacquiao. We ask her which sticker has been requested more and surprisingly, it’s Pacquiao. I thought for sure the Brits outnumbered the Filipino fans.

Pacman’s crossover appeal transcends the sport. He’s a cultural icon to a whole nation. The only thing I can compare it to is “Fernandomania” with L.A. Dodger Fernando Valenzuela, back when the Dodger pitching sensation took over the city. Before we left for Vegas, we spoke with Pear from Enterprise where we picked up an econo car to make the trek to Nevada. She’s married to a Filipino and has become a hardcore Pacquiao fan. She summed up the country’s passion for Pacman. “I’ve never seen a sport where the whole race supports the athlete. Even if you’re not necessarily a boxing fan, you still have to watch Manny. It’s incredible.” Pear tells us she and her husband will be watching the fight at the Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood. The theatre houses the Nike store (where limited-edition Pacman shirts sold out in record time) and has become the official Pacquiao fan headquarters.

Once in the arena, I notice that there’s a lot of SOBER Brits! During the Mayweather fight, the Hatton fanatics were seen camping out with trays of beer; the MGM even ran out of suds during the fight! The lines were long and the Englishmen patiently waited to cart off several beers at a time. Now I see that they only have one beer in their hand or none at all! Not sure if it’s the recession but I don’t see the beer-fueled revelry that I witnessed during the Mayweather weekend. I miss the crazy Englishmen!

Before the fight, most of the people we chatted with thought Pacman would win, but many were pulling for the underdog Hatton. My boyfriend commented, “Everyone loves Ricky Hatton!” as many wondered if an upset was possible (like Hopkins-Pavlik, Pacquiao-De La Hoya, Mosley-Margarito). At the time, the consensus was that the fight would be a classic. Sadly, no one expected Ricky to be flat on his back in just under six minutes.

During the undercards (including a Humberto “Zorrita” Soto fight), we meet a lot of Pacquiao fans from San Francisco, Chicago and Seattle. Many admit that they don’t watch a lot of boxing unless the Filipino sensation is involved. When asked if they follow any other Filipino fighters, the majority says no–just Manny, only Manny.

Everyone’s anticipating the eventual showdown between the Pacman and the Hitman. The arena of over 16,000 erupts when the two superstar combatants enter the arena. Ricky looks eager in the ring and Manny looks loose, smiling a lot. The two 30-year-old face off–and the rest is a blur. Unfortunately, Ricky took a ride on the “Pac-Man Express.” It was brutal, it was quick, as predicted by trainer Freddie Roach.

During the first round, everyone was shocked to see Ricky go down face first. I couldn’t believe it happened so fast. Then after the second knockdown, the sad realization hit that this was not going to be a classic 12-round war. We all knew then that it was just a matter of time. The highly-anticipated showdown quickly became a big letdown. The Brits were paralyzed in the moment while the Filipinos were awed by Pacman’s supremacy in the ring.

And when the southpaw delivered that left hook in the second round, it was a shot heard ’round the world. Pacquiao’s blinding hand speed and devastating power was too much for Hatton, who was outmanned, outgunned and out cold on the canvas–lights out. It all happened so quickly that I never even sat down, there was no need to sit down. The jaw-dropping knockout–in just two quick rounds–broke thousands of hearts Across the Pond.

Pacquiao, the country’s National Treasure, secures his idol status as the Filipinos cheer wildly. The Brits are stunned, still clutching their royal flags. Walking out of the arena, everyone is heard saying, “I hope Ricky’s okay” with everybody concerned about his health first and future in the ring second.

We walked near the sportsbook area to see the fans’ reactions. As we passed the MGM Lion Habitat exhibit, we encountered an obviously disappointed Brit, smoking a cigarette with a Manchester flag wrapped tightly around him like a comforting blanket. We acknowledged him and nodded but didn’t know what else to say. There were no words left. The lone fan stared off into the empty lion cage, seemingly in shock after Hatton’s devastating knockout at the hands of Pacman. It was a sad, shocking and surreal moment for Ricky’s fans.

Sunday: The fight aftermath…

The boxing community is still abuzz over the fight. Everyone gives Manny credit for the brutal (and some say beautiful) knockout punch delivered to Ricky. Some mention that Hatton said in the “24/7″ finale (that aired the night before the fight) that he didn’t want his young son to see him get knocked out. It turned out to be a prophetic statement from the Hitman. Many are also excited about the return of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and if he gets past Juan Manuel Marquez, then taking on the Pac-Man. I ask the Filipino fans what about Pacquiao squaring off against Mosley, Cotto, JCC Jr., perhaps even Margarito? Nope! They want their beloved idol to fight Mayweather! “Pretty Boy” Floyd vs. the “Pac-Man”–what do you think?!

Strolling the Strip, we visit Caesars Palace for a bite to eat. Vegas is back to business as usual, we don’t hear or see any fight fans through the casino. The only pugilist we find is the statue of Joe Louis that overlooks the sports zone.

Back at Bally’s, we take a break from boxing and get some pool time. On the way down, we meet Chad at the hotel’s mall area. He’s manning a cool massage store and happens to be a big Pacquiao fan. Chad, of Filipino descent, tells us that after he watched the PPV broadcast, he and his buddies went to the Mandalay Bay for the post-fight party where you could hear Pacquiao sing karaoke. He said tickets were $20, the line was super long, and Manny only sang three songs. But all in attendance were just thrilled to be near their hero, the “People’s Champion.”

Poolside at Bally’s is awesome! It’s nice to be a tourist sometimes and enjoy the hotel’s fun pool atmosphere. We grab some chairs and enjoy the sunshine and sights. There’s a dance contest on stage, an air guitar contest, and a bikini contest during the afternoon. It’s a party by the pool, and a good chance to recuperate from all the boxing excitement. Three college boys pass by wearing plastic guitars filled with a slushy booze concoction that come handily equipped with an oversized straw. For $35, these “guitar heroes” can still shred while slurping down the pink cocktail. It was a very funny “only in Vegas” sight that reminds me why millions flock to this city.

While sunbathing, I hear some guys talk about Hatton’s future, wondering if he will retire. Then the talk turns to Pacquiao’s future. Again, the name Mayweather seems the desired opponent mentioned the most.

I always have a grand time in Vegas, it really does offer something for everyone! Of course, gambling is in the equation, so I give the slot machines one last whirl. After sitting down at a penny “Star Trek” slot, I hit a jackpot for $273! Thank you, Mr. Spock!

Before packing up for the drive back to L.A., we decide to try the French crêpes at Paris Hotel and Casino’s cobblestone walkway. OMG–they are delicious! Be sure to have one (or two) if you’re in town for the upcoming Mayweather-Marquez fight OR a future Mayweather-Pacquiao bout…IF/WHEN that happens!!!

“Cheers” to the British fans for their loyalty to Ricky Hatton and “Salamat” to the Filipino fans for their faith in their Manny Pacquiao. You all made it a memorable weekend!