No surprises with today’s bout. As expected, Manny Pacquiao demolished his foe Eric Morales with a technical knockout at the end of round three of the two pugilists “The Grand Finale” bout in Las Vegas.

The omens were too many. Pacman was at his peak, while El Terible continued to struggle with being overweight. Pacman is also favored by his younger age, while his foe was not showing determination in any of his public appearances prior to the fight. Morales’ manager even had the gall to gatecrash Pacman’s gym in a puny attempt to scare the Pinoy boxer.

As expected, my neighbors were shouting in unison over each jab Pacman landed on Morales. Albeit too delayed, the ABS-CBN telecast provided Pinoys a chance to witness today’s match. Elsewhere in Manila, Mayor Lito Atienza treated barangay chairmen with a truly live telecast of the match, in obvious electioneering. (But what could lameduck do except to put up a brave front to the prospect of a Lacson mayoralty.)

In a few more minutes, we could expect a certain Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her husband Miguel to insert themselves into the scene and congratulate Manny on behalf of the people who do not recognize her as leader. Reports also say that at least 10 congressmen flew to Las Vegas to watch the match. We wonder who spent for their tickets, board and lodging.

Anyway, the nation rejoices over Pacman’s victory. It is a well-deserved triumph for Manny, and one moment of pre-Christmas national joy for all Filipinos.

Photo courtesy of Yahoo! News and Reuters