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From air-conditioned corporate boardrooms to steamy public gymnasiums, Filipinos are counting down the hours to Manny Pacquiao鈥檚 鈥淏attle for Greatness鈥� with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Las Vegas this morning (Saturday night in the United States).

The world welterweight championship bout was expected to bring the country to a standstill today and mark a rare period of unity for the invariably fractious country.

鈥淲e also expect Maoist rebels and Muslim extremists to watch the Pacquaio-Mayweather fight,鈥� said Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, Army spokesperson, adding that wide television screens will be set up in all military camps, including in conflict areas.

鈥淔ilipinos are all united behind our own hero. We are all rooting for Manny,鈥� the military official said of the local boxing icon. 鈥淲e expect a very peaceful day, no crime, no fighting,鈥� Cabunoc added.

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His prediction was echoed by Wilfredo 鈥淛ing鈥� Espiritu, a regional officer in Las Vegas for the National Federation of Filipino American Associations, who said he was lobbying Las Vegas officials to proclaim an official Manny Pacquiao Day because of the boxer鈥檚 importance to the local community.

Pacquiao cake

Espiritu offered an anecdote to sum up Pacquiao鈥檚 icon status for Filipinos everywhere: 鈥淓very time Manny Pacquiao fights, there鈥檚 zero crime in the Philippines because everyone, including the criminals, they all stop and watch.鈥�

A day before the fight, the air of expectation and excitement reached fever pitch in the country, with people coming up with creative ways to show their support for the boxing legend.

A life-size Pacquiao 70-kilogram chocolate cake, which took two weeks to make, went on display on Saturday in Manila, with slices to be given away after the bout.

Cinemas and restaurants have sold out tickets for the fight, and even prisoners at a jail in Sarangani province鈥攚hich Pacquiao represents in Congress鈥攚ill have the chance to watch the fight.

Taxi driver Manolo Garcia said he would stop for a few hours to listen to his radio.

鈥淲in or lose, I am for Manny Pacquiao,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 will pray for him, I will pray for his victory. God is on his side.鈥�

86 million punches

Local boxing analysts say the pressure is on Mayweather, who is seeking to preserve his unblemished professional record.

More than 86 million punches have been thrown at a virtual punching bag set up three weeks ago by broadcast network ABS-CBN to support eight-division champion Pacquiao.

Manila Electric Co. assured the public there would be no power outage on fight day, although power generators in Mindanao may not meet the surge in electricity demand.

Showing a standby generator, General Santos City tourism officer Maria Cora Tito said: 鈥淲e want to avoid a revolt here, we have prepared for that.鈥�

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5th largest Pinoy population

In Las Vegas, home to one of the largest populations of Filipinos in the US, Filipino-Americans relished the thrill of having the heavily promoted fight in their own backyard.

Nearly 5 percent of Nevadans鈥攎ore than 138,000 people鈥攊dentify as Filipino, making the sparsely populated state home to the fifth-largest contingent in the country, according to Census data. Other states with more than 100,000 Filipinos include California, Hawaii, Texas, Illinois, Washington, New Jersey, Florida, New York and Virginia.

Of the 3.6 million people who identify as Filipino in the US, one out of 26 live in Nevada and mostly in the Las Vegas area.

鈥淭hey say Las Vegas is 鈥楳ayweather Town,鈥� maybe because of the mainstream [media]鈥攖hey don鈥檛 know that the Vegas community of Filipinos is one of the biggest,鈥� said Arturo Garcia of Los Angeles-based Justice for Filipino American Veterans.

In fact, many of the Filipino households in Vegas are expected to host out-of-towners who want to be in the midst of the buzz surrounding the event.

One of them, Rogel Carlos, 50, flew in from Phoenix on Friday to join friends and enjoy the expected spread of Filipino food catered in the typical fashion of a family reunion or birthday party.

Proud of heritage

鈥淚t鈥檚 really the first time as a Filipino-American that I can be proud of my heritage 鈥� because of what Manny Pacquiao has accomplished. It鈥檚 almost as if all Filipinos feel like this,鈥� Carlos said.

In a nod to the 1.5 million Filipinos who live in California, the largest total number in the US, Our Lady of Loretto Elementary School in Los Angeles鈥� Historic Filipinotown is also scrambling to host a watch party. AP

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