Even the secretary of state of the world’s most influential country has no doubt: Manny Pacquiao, the world’s top pound-for-pound boxer, will again reign in the ring. “Of course, the Pacman is going to win...Is there any doubt?" said US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton when asked by Kapuso and basketball star Chris Tiu during a forum at the University of Sto. Tomas in Manila on Friday.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gestures during a forum with students at the University of Santo Tomas, the Philippines's oldest, in Manila, Philippines on Friday. Clinton is in the Philippines on a visit to show support for the country's fight against extremists and its efforts to rebuild after three major storms rocked the islands. AP
“Pacman" is Pacquiao’s nickname. The 67th US Secretary of State’s response drew loud applause in the town hall meeting, attended mostly by students. Tiu asked Clinton whether she thought Pacquiao would be able to snatch the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown from Miguel Cotto in their highly anticipated Las Vegas match, dubbed “Firepower", on Saturday (Sunday in Manila). The most popular Filipino will be back in the boxing ring in Las Vegas on Saturday to take on Cotto of Puerto Rico in a 145-pound (66-kilogram) fight that will be closely watched back home. Clinton’s prediction is similar to that of the majority of respondents to a Yahoo! Sports poll, which posted the question, “How will Saturday night’s fight end?" A big chunk of the 36,338 who had voted so far or about 64 percent believe the Filipino boxing idol is going to win by either knockout or technical knockout. On the other hand, 17 percent is going for a KO/TKO win for Cotto. In the event the 12-round title fight goes the distance, Pacquiao still gets a double-digit batting average with 13 percent foreseeing a Pacman-via-decision outcome, and only seven percent favoring a Cotto win by the judges’ cards. Upon arriving in the so-called “Entertainment Capital of the World", Pacquiao has been established as a 3-1 favorite to win over Cotto in their anticipated “Firepower" showdown on Saturday at the MGM Grand (Sunday in Manila).
Manny Pacquiao, left, and Puerto Rico's Miguel Cotto pose for photos during a news conference at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Wednesday (Thursday in Manila), in Las Vegas. The boxers will face each other in a WBO welterweight championship boxing match on Saturday. AP
The 30-year-old Pacquiao is targeting a historic seventh world title in a seventh weight division, a career milestone that champ Cotto is deadset to foil. Clinton said she’s aware that boxing and basketball are “pretty big" in the Philippines. Every time Pacquiao steps into the ring, he brings his native Philippines to a virtual standstill. A Chicago native, Clinton also confessed that the Chicago Bulls were her favorites — until she moved to New York and started backing the Knicks, something she said was “kind of discouraging." “Now the Knicks are trying maybe to get LeBron James, now that would make it very exciting in New York. So I will watch that. I am not sure exactly what will happen," Clinton said.
– With reports from AP 
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