In Manila

FILIPINOS are swelling with joyous pride after local boxing hero Manny Pacquiao demolished Mexican-American opponent Oscar De La Hoya in Las Vagas.
 
It was another stunning victory for the 29-year-old Pacquiao, further cementing his reputation as the world's best  pound-for-pound boxer.

Manila's streets were mostly deserted Sunday morning and early afternoon as Pacquiao's adoring fans followed live broadcasts of the non-title bout at the MGM Grand in open-air stadiums, cinemas and other venues across the city.

I watched the match in a large gym at the headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines at Camp Aguinaldo, a sprawling military base in the heart of city. Around 3,000 troops and their families packed the sweltering venue to watch the fight.

"He our great pride," a young Army signalman replied when I asked him what Pacquiao meant to Filipinos. I got the same answer from others there.

International boxing experts had rated the lighter and smaller Pacquiao as the underdog in the non-title bout against 10-time world champion De La Hoya.

"Even if he loses, we'll still love him," Ms Angie Librade, a therapist at the camp's wellness centre told me as the first round got underway.

How wrong the pundits were: Pacquiao nimbly attacked De La Hoya with a barrage of punches and jabs from the start.

The troops roared - a sound not unlike "Ole!" at a bullfight - each time Pacquiao's landed a particulalry heavy blow against his opponent, who looked slow from the start.

Many in the audience were feverishly sending text-message updates of the fight to relatives and friends.

An explosion of cheering followed the announcement that Pacquiao had won in the eighth round in a technical knockout. The ecstatic audience filed out into the blazing sunlight high-fiving friends and strangers.

The Pacman, as his called here, has snapped up world titles in four weight divisions, the first Asian to so so.

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo called to congratulate Pacquiao for his victory, calling it a "testament to the spirit of the Filipino," said a statement from her office.

In a taxi on the drive home, I listened to him being interviewed on the radio. "You're a greater fighter and a coming politician," the interviewer gushed. Pacquiao replied that his win was a "big honour to all Filipinos who love boxing".

He made no mention - and appropritely so - of his widely expected next career move to go into politics in 2009 after one, maybe two, more big fights.

But as I wrote in a profile of the boxer in The Straits Times last month, he will find Philippine politics, unlike the rules of the ring, a no-holds-barred, below-the belt business.