Once again traffic disappeared from the streets in Bacolod and probably in most other places in the country reached by TV yesterday, when the Mandalay Bay Hotel provided the setting for the much-expected "Will to Win" fight, or rematch, between the country's boxing icon Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, and Mexico's has-been champion Marco Antonio Barrera. Hotels and restos where live TV showing of the bout was offered drew big crowds at noon yesterday.

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But, as Bacolod resident and newly arrived from Spain, Julito Jimenez, summed it up: "It's PACMAN as predicted. It's a 33-year-old against a 28-year-old man. It was a lousy fight with Barrera avoiding Pacquiao's punch." His view was echoed by many others who watched the match at first anxiously, and later impatiently when it began to look as if the "new tactics" and "strategies" bragged about by the Barrera camp turned out to be only a plan to keep away from the blows of Manny.

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At last, the Pacquiao team got an appropriate singer to render the Philippine National Anthem. The young girl named only Kyla looked freshfaced, appealing, and sang, at last, with a better tempo than former ones. And she could memorize the whole anthem, too. What's more, she was very refreshingly different from the Mexican singer who looked as if she just came directly from a nightclub stint, or the one who belted out the U.S. Star-Spangled Banner, mangling the tune.

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Any observant watcher could note the hint of fear in Barrera's eyes as he moved towards the ring, a sharp contrast to the smiling Pacquiao, confident and sure of himself. The Mexicans in the crowd, of which there were thousands, tried their best to buoy up their country's defender, waving their flag and a banner declaring "Estamos contigo (We are with you)". The Pinoys could not be outshouted, they carried bigger flags this time.

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It was interesting to see the expressions of the well-dressed men and women at ringside. Even at the hottest of exchanges, some continued to look impassive, as if they had not, perhaps, bet thousands of dollars or millions of pesetas. The undercard boxers were all powerful ones, and our Pinoy set the pace by disposing of his Mexican opponent in the first round. It looked as if Mexico's day of revenge in the ring has flopped. Barrera had played on his countrymen's patriotism for support, stressing how many of their champions had been demolished by Filipinos. His people delivered, but he didn't.

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As in previous big fights in Las Vegas, the crowd seemed scattered during the undercard editions. But as soon as the two big players were to come in, the theater filled to bursting in the wink of an eye. Where did they all come from? Some of the world's most famous ring heroes were there, like Oscar de la Hoya, Sugar Ray Leonard, and others. Last time Manny fought, even Mohammad Ali and Mike Tyson were present. Noted as the cameras went panning were Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and several showbiz personalities.

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Several times, it looked as if Barrera was only saved by the bell. But he fought dirty when he slugged Manny after the referee had already intervened. The judges meted him a deduction, which didn't affect his poor score, anyway. At one point, his trainers were heard coaching him "Evitar la izquierda (avoid the left)", but it didn't help the aging warrior who got to the 12th round, but barely. Pacquiao, as he has always done, played cleanly, but it was not that which made the judges give him their vote UNANIMOUSLY.*

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