The local sports community was abuzz with excitement yesterday following the official announcement that the May 2 welterweight war between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather is on.
“Pacquiao carries the weight of expectations of an entire nation, and those fight fans who want to see Mayweather finally beaten” said PBA Commissioner Chito Salud yesterday.
Purefoods Star mentor Tim Cone, whose team lost to the Pacquiao-led Kia last week, he simply said it’s about time for the fight to happen after several failed attempts.
“It’s the biggest event since the ‘Thrilla in Manila’… it’s a once in a generation,” said Cone, referring to the third and final boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in October 1975 here.
Purefoods’ James Yap, a two-time MVP, and Globalport’s Erick Arejola both call it the “fight of the century” with Mayweather staking his unbeaten 47-0 record against Pacquiao, the only boxer in history to win titles in eight different divisions.
“It’s going to be an exciting match… of course we want to see Manny beat Floyd,” said Arejola.
“We’ve been waiting for this fight, so now that it’s happening, we pray that Manny wins it,” said Terry Que, who co-owns Rain or Shine with Raymond Yu.
Former Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Harry Angping said it’s a dream come true.
“We all step and rally and cheer our hero to win the most important fight of the century,” said Angping. “I have never seen any Pacquiao fight… now I want to make sure that I am there to witness and be part of history,” added the former Manila congressman.