Home 
With Filipino boxing sensation Manny ?Pacman? Pacquiao heavily favored to win against challenger Joshua Clottey in ?The Event? on Sunday, several Pacquiao fans are having a hard time finding bettors.
Although Clottey has a height and reach advantage over Pacquiao, the odds are still heavily stacked up in favor of the Filipino boxing hero.
Eric, who works in a construction firm, said his boss is willing to bet P200,000 on Pacquiao but there are no takers.
?The P200,000 would only win P60,000 but no one is biting. Some fans believe that Clottey has no chance of beating Manny,? Eric said.
The odds were also in his favor when Pacquiao went up against boxers Oscar Dela Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera.
Many believe that Pacquiao (50-3-2) remains the heavy favorite when he clashes with Clottey (35-3) on Sunday at the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas before a sellout crowd of 45,000.
Another Pacquiao fan, Randy, a taxi driver, said no one among his fellow taxi drivers was willing to place a bet on Clottey.
?Clottey is unknown to many. That's why some boxing fans are afraid to place their bet on him,? said Randy in Cebuano.
A worker at the Bureau of Customs said his co-workers, who are for Pacquiao, put up a combined P50,000 but have yet to find takers.
Some boxing experts said the Pacquiao-Clottey fight lacked in luster compared to the previous fights of the Filipino boxing hero, who will put his welterweight world title on the line against the 32-year-old Ghana native.
?Maybe. And the reason being is that Clottey is way below of the class of (Floyd) Mayweather and Pacquiao in terms of marketability. Pacquiao and Mayweather lang gusto ng mga tao eh,? said Manila-based and veteran boxing analyst Dennis Principe.
?Skill wise, he's inferior compared to Manny. Clottey can only have an advantage in intangibles like being more motivated in gaining financial windfall in beating Manny,? Prencipe said.
Pacquiao has won his last 11 fights with his last victory coming at the expense of Miguel Cotto, who scored a split decision win over Clottey.
In other Pacquiao fights, the betting offers would have flooded the inbox of every boxing enthusiast?s cellular phones. But in this latest fight, the betting is close to nothing, said boxing enthusiast ABC President Eugenio Faelnar who won all his bets on Pacquiao.
Faelnar is willing to wager as much as P150,0000 on the People?s Champ but nobody is biting.
?Before, in one of Manny Paquiao?s fight, I bet as much as P150,00 but now not even a single peso bet was offered,? he said.
His smallest bet was P10,000 during the Paquiao-Hatton fight when almost everyone was on Manny?s side.
?Even my peers who used to bet on Manny?s fight also told me that no one offers a bet,? Faelnar added.
He said some bets might happen in the last minutes before the game or on the day of the game itself.
Mediaman and satellite communications enthusiast Edgar Escalante of ABS-CBN decided to transfer his birthday party to the day of Pacquiao?s fight.
?My birthday is on March 16 but I didn?t mind moving it to March 14. What better way of spending my birthday with my family and friends than on the day of Manny Paquiao?s fight??
With his self-installed satellite dish and a big screen, Escalante believes his birthday will be as explosive as the fight itself.
According to Fr. Expidito Torrevillas II, secretary to Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, his nationalism and patriotism are intensified whenever he watches Pacquiao?s fight.
?I don?t really enjoy watching someone getting beaten hard. To me, that?s just too brutal in a way. But if you ask me if I watch his bouts, I do but not because of the brutality but because of nationality,? he said.
Cebu City Police Director Patrocinio Commendador Jr. has ordered his men to put up checkpoints and conduct roving during the fight of Pacquiao to prevent lawless elements from taking advantage of the siuation.
He cited the robbery that transpired hours after Pacquiao?s bout with Cotto.
Commendador said they would secure all public areas that will put up widescreens and the malls./WITHCORRESPONDENT JUCELL MARIE P. CUYOS
