Home 
CEBU CITY, Philippines ? Heavy rain early Sunday morning did not stop boxing aficionados from trooping to SM City Cebu's Cinemas 7 and 8 to watch live the much-anticipated fight between Manny Pacquiao and Oscar de la Hoya.
Most, if not all, went home ecstatic.
?It was a great, great fight! I did not expect Manny to win because he was smaller and shorter but he showed he was the better fighter,? said Rey Maglasang, a junior college student right before he left Cinema 8.
Maglasang was one of hundreds of people who packed Cinema about 8 a.m. to catch the bout between the Philippine boxing champ and the veteran American-Mexican boxer.
By 9 a.m., tickets were almost sold out for the noon match.
Even before the fight could start, the crowd inside Cinema 8 was already chanting Pacquiao's name.
Cheers went up a notch as the cinema showed the fighters being introduced inside the ring.
As the fight proceeded, the crowd was restless as Pacquiao dominated the fight, especially in the seventh and eighth rounds as De la Hoya nearly kissed the canvas.
The crowd went wild as De la Hoya announced after the eighth round that he would no longer continue.
?Manny made us Filipinos proud anew. He again proved that the Filipinos are the best in boxing,? said a Pacquiao fan who only identified himself as Eric.
?Pacquiao was simply fabulous. He was great,? said boxing patron Antonio Aldeguer through a text message. ?His victory will boost Philippine boxing the more. He is heaven-sent to the Filipino people.?
The only time De la Hoya received an applause from the crowd was during a post-fight interview where he admitted that ?Manny was the better fighter.?
While most of the crowd rejoiced over Pacquiao's victory, a group of around seven gentlemen in their 50s seated in the front row of the premiere seats kept quiet.
?We were for De la Hoya because he was bigger,? said one of the men, who spoke in Tagalog and asked not to be named.
The man admitted that they placed bets in favor of De la Hoya, but declined to say how much.
?We were shocked how De la Hoya lost the fight. He was favored, but it turned out to be a one-sided match in favor of the smaller Pacquiao,? he said.
