Vegas fight draws star-studded audience
MANILA, Philippines - Famous Hollywood celebrities trooped to the MGM Grand arena in Las Vegas, Nevada to watch the much anticipated fight between Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao and England’s Ricky Hatton.
Academy award winners Jack Nicholson and Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, music superstars Mariah Carey, P. Diddy and Jay-Z were among the 16,262 in attendance at the Grand arena.
Concert King Martin Nievera sang the Philippine national anthem and was clad in a “three stars and a sun” shirt designed by the late master rapper Francis Magalona.
Popular Welsh singer Tom Jones, meanwhile, sang Britain’s national anthem.
The big boxing match was over in a flash when Pacquiao knocked out Hatton in the second round.
Pacquiao was a favorite to win, but few thought Hatton would go easily. His only previous loss came when he was stopped in the 10th round by Floyd Mayweather Jr., and he built a career and a reputation as a tough and aggressive fighter who wore his opponents down.
But he stood no chance against Pacquiao, whose punches came straight down the middle and landed with increasing frequency as the fight went on.
Local celebrities also in full force
Aside from Hollywood hotshots, Filipino local celebrities also came in full force to support Pacquiao during the weigh-in at the Grand arena a day before the fight.
Among those present were Donna Cruz, Annabelle Rama, Onyok Velasco, Brian Viloria, husband and wife Richard and Lucy Gomez.
Donna was with her husband, Yong Larrazabal and brother Jomar Cruz. Nievera, who was with his son Robin, was mobbed by Filipino fans at the Grand arena.
In an article from the Philippine Entertainment Portal (PEP), Rama recounted that she was forced to buy tickets for her relatives from Texas to watch the Pacquiao-Hatton fight.
She said former Ilocos Sur governor Chavit Singson used to give her free tickets but which had run out because the British bought a lot of tickets to show support to the slugger from Manchester City. - With AP
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