Noel Zarate and Bill Velasco will make you feel that you are actually at Macao watching the fight!
Solaire Resort & Casino spared no expense making this live viewing as they had veteran sportscasters Noel Zarate and Bill Velasco do live commentary. With the ring setup, that giant screen and live commentaries; watching the fight truly felt an awesome experience and gave the ambiance of really being there. Being inside a 5-star resort and casino by the bay helped a lot, too.
Anthony Suntay interviews the “Pambansang Kamao” Manny Paksiw
Aside from the live commentaries, there were live interviews, as well. The fighting congressman of Sarangani province came for a short pit stop with Anthony Suntay before his match against Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios.
Oooh la la!
Entertainment during intermissions did not come up short as the lovely dancers ala Rio Carnival danced and had fun with the crowd. Got my 2nd fill of iced tea by this time.
This dancer’s upper body strength puts most guys to shame, including me
I was amazed by the grace and power of this pole dancer. Not only do they need to be flexible and graceful but they also need to have the upper body strength to support their weight!
Andy Ruiz versus Tor Hammer
The seats were starting to fill up by the time the Andy Ruiz versus Tor Hammer began. As of this match, 1 more undercard bout and it will be the much anticipated Pacquiao versus Rios match. Andy Ruiz was impressive during the match even though he looked like an obese and overweight fighter, his hand speed and power as a heavyweight is truly impressive as he retired his opponent on the stool after the fourth round (Hamer consciously quit the match)! Tor Hamer was then released by his promoter via Twitter shortly after the fight. Once a fighter losses heart, his career is over.
1 more match, then it was time to rumble.
The beautiful round girl of Solaire
Then it was time, Jessica Sanchez finally sang the Philippine National Anthem beautifully!
As the story goes: Manny Pacquaio dominated the match winning via unanimous decision over Brandon Rios. As a Manny Pacquaio and also as a fight fan, I was impressed with what the Pacman showed during the bout. After the K.O. loss over Juan Manuel Marquez, almost everybody thought about Manny retiring or he will never be the same fighter again.
Am I glad that they are right that he will not be the same fighter again! The majority only knows that Pacquaio is a slugger, who uses his speed and power with reckless abandon to overpower his opponent time after time and only few knows that Pacquaio is also an excellent boxer.
It was a massacre with little effort onset the first round until the end of the match as Pacquiao not only displayed his inhuman speed and power, but also his experience and boxing intelligence with impeccable timing of his punches and this time, also knowing when to abandon the chase. Hit and not get hit, a demolition job in art form, a perfect plan crafted by celebrated trainer Freddie Roach. I had it 120-108.
The last time The Destroyer showed such feat? It was during the Pacquiao versus Morales 3 in where the Pacman out-boxed and finished Morales in three rounds!
Random Fact: when Manny Pacquiao fights, the crime rate in the Philippines actually drops!
The People’s Champ: Manny Paksiw!
As the nation celebrated the win over Rios, the crowd at the Solaire Grand Ballroom got to enjoy the win with Manny Paksiw, coach Freddie Roach and the President of the Philippines, Pnoy!
It was a wonderful experience covering this for When in Manila, getting to watch the fight with my dad at a terrific venue hosted by Solaire Resort & Casino. Hopefully, more events like this will happen more frequently as this is definitely something to experience. The convenience and ambiance itself were already worth the ticket price – and the food and entertainment? A mere bonus!
Who’s next after this? A rematch against Timothy Bradley? But I do hope to see you soon, Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Solaire Resort & Casino
1 Asean Avenue
Entertainment City
Tambo,Paranaque City 1701
Philippines
+63.2.888.8888
