SOLANO, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines – This time it was a Ricky Hatton fan.
A boxing fan here who placed his bet on the British slugger during the much-awaited “Battle of the East and West” reportedly suffered a stroke and died while watching Hatton being pummeled by Filipino boxing idol Manny Pacquiao last Sunday.
Mike Villaflores, 43, of the neighboring Barangay Bonfal West, Bayombong town here, was immediately rushed to the Medical Mission Group Hospital after collapsing upon seeing Pacquiao floor Hatton for the second time in the first round.
The victim was watching the bout live on the big screen at the jampacked Solano cockpit arena at the time of the incident.
“His companions noticed that he was already gasping for breath after Pacquiao delivered the first knockdown. He collapsed almost simultaneously as Hatton suffered a second knockdown,” said a newspaper vendor here.
“We heard he bet a big sum on Hatton. The victim and his companion were noticeably speechless and seemed bewildered,” he added.
A police source said they received reports of the incident from colleagues who were securing the cockpit area and even helped rush the victim to the hospital.
“Our chief of police decided we did not have to make a report about the incident since the victim died of natural causes,” the police said.
It was later learned that Villaflores placed a P9,000 bet for Hatton against a certain Sebastian of Bagabag town.
Some reports also indicated that the amount was part of the P200,000 collectively raised by their ragtag group as bet for Hatton.
To the victim’s surprise, Hatton was floored twice in the first round. Pacquiao went on to finish Hatton in the second round and secured the latter’s International Boxing Organization’s junior welterweight crown.
The Filipino ring icon’s impressive annihilation of the legendary Briton also put him as the first Asian boxer to capture five championship belts in different divisions.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the Pacman-Hitman bout has now reportedly climbed to 10 as three more were reported to have suffered strokes or heart attacks while watching the match.
Villaflores was reported to be the only pro-Hatton fatality.