Local News: Direct From Las Vegas, Nevada, Leonardia Arrives for Independence Day and Charter Day Activities
Despite being sleepless for almost 48 hours, Mayor Eve-lio Leonardia is back home to Bacolod straight from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, as part of Team Pacquiao for the Pacman-Bradley WBO welterweight division bout at the Grand Garden Arena.
Bacolod City Mayor Evelio "Bing" Leonardia meets singing sensation Jessica
Sanchez of Filipino-Mexican-American descent at the locker room of boxing icon
Manny Pacquiao prior to his recent fight with Bradley at the MGM Grand in Las
Vegas when she paid a courtesy call to Manny before the start of the fight where
she sang the Star Spangled Banner.*
Mayor Bing Leonardia recounted the real happenings from the locker room of Pacman to the ring, and back to locker room after the fight.
He said, a few minutes before the start of the game, he already sensed a bad omen. He was replaced of the task as reader of the first reading verses during the Pacman’s holy mass, then upon entering the boxing arena, a Filipino who is a US marine, took the Philippine Flag that he was supposed to carry while the national anthem was being sung. The situation raised the eyebrows of Manny because he wanted Mayor Bing to be the one to carry the national flag, so it was taken back from the US marine. Score sheets have shown that Pacman had the most number of points.
Therefore, they were so shocked when Bradley was announced as winner by a split decision. He said it was a disastrous happening that even the audience booed the judges for their controversial decision.
Actually, the mayor said, the Pacman fight has brought business to Las Vegas. Hotels were fully occupied, souvenir items, especially entrance tickets were sold out, during the Pacman-Bradley fight.
After the game, the mood inside the dressing room was not festive but not sad either, because everyone knew that Pacman would be the winner. But, the international community noticed that the Filipinos were well behaved. They did not act the way the Mexicans did when their boxer lost to Pacman. More people sympathized with him, He became more popular. He was professional, he did not utter negative comments against Bradley. He only said, God has other plans for him.
Win or loss, my sympathy to Manny will be there always, said Mayor Leonardia.
When Manny faced that rematch on November, I salute him, he said.*
