On Saturday evening May 2nd (Sunday morning May 3rd in Hong Kong) in Las Vegas Nevada perhaps one of the financially largest and most anticipated and watched sporting events in history took place. I will publish this Post before the above statistics are released but this was one gigantic event. I myself have never paid to watch any boxing match. To watch this one I would have paid far FAR more than I paid!
Floyd Mayweather of the U.S. and Manny Pacquiao of the Phillipines .. after five some years of verbal and written rhetoric .. actually faced off to decide the World Welter Weight Boxing Title.
I was able to watch the match live on television here in Hong Kong.
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I feel bad that I have not published a Post here on blogspot since April the 5th when I wished you all a HAPPY EASTER.
Since this is my Doxology .. leaving an Easter Post up for a full month is not all bad.
That being said .. to follow my Easter Post with a Post about the sport of boxing seems to be a real oxymoron.
Ordinarily a boxing Post would fit over on my dot net website. The thing is that I have publised a fair number of sports oriented Posts here on this site.
Just last February 1st and 4th I published two sports Posts here on The Football Super Bowl. This Boxing Post is closely related to that Super Bowl Post because they were both at the same location/venue here in Hong Kong.
'the SAINT' .. is an upscale Gastro Bar and Social House .. or perhaps what we call a sports bar and lounge located on Elgin Street in the Soho area of Hong Kong in the mid-levels. Don't you all love how I 'throw around' my Hong Kong familiarity?
Below are a few photos taken standing on Elgin Street looking down from the mid-levels of Hong Kong ..
The above and below photos are of the Hong Kong Mid-Levels Escalator.
Below we have 'the SAINT' ..
Looking down Elgin Street. A friend of Patti and myself owns the restaurant with the green sign on the left of the below photo just across the street-crosswalk.
Looking up Elgin Street.
Both my Super Bowl viewing and this Boxing viewing were set into motion by the same friend here in Hong Kong .. one Alex Berriman .. one of my 'go-to' friends here in Hong Kong.
Alex was the main-man for the Super Bowl viewing. So when I wanted to know where I could watch the Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao Boxing Match I called up Alex who guided me back to 'the SAINT'.
Now in my book .. A Promise Made Is A Debt Unpaid ..
I promised both John (on the left) and Jeff (on the right) below that I would post this photo of the two of them right up front here behind Alex.
The John and Jeff Story. We three are 'early arrivers'. We three were at 'the SAINT' before 8AM when it officially opened for the the viewing of the boxing match.
To be precise we three were there about 7:45AM. The BOXING match actually got underway at 11:58AM some FOUR PLUS HOURS after we were at 'the SAINT'.
Last night my buddy Simon told me that the NOKIA smart-cell-phone Simon gave to me would pick up WiFi. I had no clue about what to do. One of the employees of 'the SAINT' showed me how to log into their WiFi with my smart-phone.
NOW WHAT TO DO?
Enter first Jeff and then John who spent copius minutes walking me through the process to find Cathay Pacific Airlines website on my NOKIA smart-phone so I could go onto their web site to find the flight number of Patti's flight so I could check its departure and arrival times.
We two (Patti and I) Rocket Scientists could not manage to exchange that information before she left.
The three of us (John and Jeff and I) each have several decades of living in San Francisco. To be honest hooking-up with the two of them really made my experience there today a lot of fun.
A BIG .. THANKS SO MUCH YOU GUYS!!
Now to some photos of the doings!
With a very nice continental breakfast the boxing match was thrown-in!
HK $ 412 is US $ 53.16. Trust me the breakfast was well worth the money!
These photos (above and below) were snapped upstairs. They even had a boxing punching bag with boxing gloves for anyone who wanted to exorcise some extra energy!
Now we will go downstairs where I sat.
When I signed up for the event .. the staff remembered me and asked me IF I wanted to sit at MY table .. the table where I watched the Super Bowl game. Table Number 19.
There is NOTHING between me and MY table and the large screen television!
"Yes 'Zilla? Which is MY table 'Zilla?" .. "My table is the table with the gray and green bag full of my stuff necessary to watch a sporting match 'Zilla." ..
Ah-h-h-h .. did you say 'Continental Breakfast'? Well 'the SAINT' .. IF you say it is a 'Continental Breakfast' then I guess that it must be!
The French Crouissants and the HIGHLY garlicy olives were to-die-for good!
In 'my book' this is a FULL breakfast!
Some general photos of the venue!
Now the fighters arrive! Great fanfare and noise and cheering and hoop-la!
First to be shown arriving was Floyd Mayweather.
Manny Pacquiao's arrival with his wife at his side seemed to be a tad more emotional.
Now a few photos of the fight itself. Manny Pacquiao is wearing the yellow boxing shorts.
It was a great fight. I wanted Manny Pacquiao to win but Floyd Mayweather won in a unanimous decision! I have to agree that he was the clear winner.
Well Boxing Fans .. that is all there is. Everything wrapped up at 1PM our time here in Hong Kong. A five hour and fifteen minute experience.
Smiles from Hong Kong! .. Cap ..
WAIT CAPTAIN! .. You just wrote the fight was a five hour and fifteen minute experience. Do you really want us to believe that is accurate? The 'math' does not add up! /s/ 'Zilla ..
What would I do without you my friend? You are spot-on. Here is your answer.
A prize fight can end in less than one minute. You have a history full of quick knockouts. So to protect the fans they have several 'under card' fights. Much like the Rolling Stones have a band that plays before they come on stage to warm up the crowd.
We had two (2) under card fights. A twelve and a ten round fight.
The twelve round fight went into the ninth round. It was a World Feather Weight Championship fight.
Vasyl Lomachenko defeated Gamalier Rodriguez by a knock out in the ninth round.
Below are two photos of this event.
The other under card fight went all of its ten rounds ..
Leo Santa Cruz defeated Jose Cayetano in a ten rounder.
These two fights took a few hours. A 12-Round fight will last 48-minutes. Then you have the hoopla before and after since the first fight was a World Championship fight.
Great observation my friend!
After having Patti here at my side for five weeks it feels odd to press Publish without Patti's review of this Post. Her flight from Hong Kong to San Francisco was a delight in FIRST CLASS. She is now in San Francisco resting in a hotel near the airport for her flight to Anchorage Sunday morning.
Floyd Mayweather of the U.S. and Manny Pacquiao of the Phillipines .. after five some years of verbal and written rhetoric .. actually faced off to decide the World Welter Weight Boxing Title.
I was able to watch the match live on television here in Hong Kong.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I feel bad that I have not published a Post here on blogspot since April the 5th when I wished you all a HAPPY EASTER.
Since this is my Doxology .. leaving an Easter Post up for a full month is not all bad.
That being said .. to follow my Easter Post with a Post about the sport of boxing seems to be a real oxymoron.
Ordinarily a boxing Post would fit over on my dot net website. The thing is that I have publised a fair number of sports oriented Posts here on this site.
Just last February 1st and 4th I published two sports Posts here on The Football Super Bowl. This Boxing Post is closely related to that Super Bowl Post because they were both at the same location/venue here in Hong Kong.
'the SAINT' .. is an upscale Gastro Bar and Social House .. or perhaps what we call a sports bar and lounge located on Elgin Street in the Soho area of Hong Kong in the mid-levels. Don't you all love how I 'throw around' my Hong Kong familiarity?
Below are a few photos taken standing on Elgin Street looking down from the mid-levels of Hong Kong ..
The above and below photos are of the Hong Kong Mid-Levels Escalator.
Below we have 'the SAINT' ..
Looking down Elgin Street. A friend of Patti and myself owns the restaurant with the green sign on the left of the below photo just across the street-crosswalk.
Looking up Elgin Street.
Both my Super Bowl viewing and this Boxing viewing were set into motion by the same friend here in Hong Kong .. one Alex Berriman .. one of my 'go-to' friends here in Hong Kong.
Alex was the main-man for the Super Bowl viewing. So when I wanted to know where I could watch the Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao Boxing Match I called up Alex who guided me back to 'the SAINT'.
Now in my book .. A Promise Made Is A Debt Unpaid ..
I promised both John (on the left) and Jeff (on the right) below that I would post this photo of the two of them right up front here behind Alex.
The John and Jeff Story. We three are 'early arrivers'. We three were at 'the SAINT' before 8AM when it officially opened for the the viewing of the boxing match.
To be precise we three were there about 7:45AM. The BOXING match actually got underway at 11:58AM some FOUR PLUS HOURS after we were at 'the SAINT'.
Last night my buddy Simon told me that the NOKIA smart-cell-phone Simon gave to me would pick up WiFi. I had no clue about what to do. One of the employees of 'the SAINT' showed me how to log into their WiFi with my smart-phone.
NOW WHAT TO DO?
Enter first Jeff and then John who spent copius minutes walking me through the process to find Cathay Pacific Airlines website on my NOKIA smart-phone so I could go onto their web site to find the flight number of Patti's flight so I could check its departure and arrival times.
We two (Patti and I) Rocket Scientists could not manage to exchange that information before she left.
The three of us (John and Jeff and I) each have several decades of living in San Francisco. To be honest hooking-up with the two of them really made my experience there today a lot of fun.
A BIG .. THANKS SO MUCH YOU GUYS!!
Now to some photos of the doings!
With a very nice continental breakfast the boxing match was thrown-in!
HK $ 412 is US $ 53.16. Trust me the breakfast was well worth the money!
These photos (above and below) were snapped upstairs. They even had a boxing punching bag with boxing gloves for anyone who wanted to exorcise some extra energy!
Now we will go downstairs where I sat.
When I signed up for the event .. the staff remembered me and asked me IF I wanted to sit at MY table .. the table where I watched the Super Bowl game. Table Number 19.
There is NOTHING between me and MY table and the large screen television!
"Yes 'Zilla? Which is MY table 'Zilla?" .. "My table is the table with the gray and green bag full of my stuff necessary to watch a sporting match 'Zilla." ..
Ah-h-h-h .. did you say 'Continental Breakfast'? Well 'the SAINT' .. IF you say it is a 'Continental Breakfast' then I guess that it must be!
The French Crouissants and the HIGHLY garlicy olives were to-die-for good!
In 'my book' this is a FULL breakfast!
Some general photos of the venue!
Now the fighters arrive! Great fanfare and noise and cheering and hoop-la!
First to be shown arriving was Floyd Mayweather.
Manny Pacquiao's arrival with his wife at his side seemed to be a tad more emotional.
Now a few photos of the fight itself. Manny Pacquiao is wearing the yellow boxing shorts.
The Twelfth and the Last Round of the Fight!
It was a great fight. I wanted Manny Pacquiao to win but Floyd Mayweather won in a unanimous decision! I have to agree that he was the clear winner.
Well Boxing Fans .. that is all there is. Everything wrapped up at 1PM our time here in Hong Kong. A five hour and fifteen minute experience.
For me personally it was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the day and the match. Smiles from Hong Kong! .. Cap ..
WAIT CAPTAIN! .. You just wrote the fight was a five hour and fifteen minute experience. Do you really want us to believe that is accurate? The 'math' does not add up! /s/ 'Zilla ..
What would I do without you my friend? You are spot-on. Here is your answer.
A prize fight can end in less than one minute. You have a history full of quick knockouts. So to protect the fans they have several 'under card' fights. Much like the Rolling Stones have a band that plays before they come on stage to warm up the crowd.
We had two (2) under card fights. A twelve and a ten round fight.
The twelve round fight went into the ninth round. It was a World Feather Weight Championship fight.
Vasyl Lomachenko defeated Gamalier Rodriguez by a knock out in the ninth round.
Below are two photos of this event.
The other under card fight went all of its ten rounds ..
Leo Santa Cruz defeated Jose Cayetano in a ten rounder.
These two fights took a few hours. A 12-Round fight will last 48-minutes. Then you have the hoopla before and after since the first fight was a World Championship fight.
Great observation my friend!
After having Patti here at my side for five weeks it feels odd to press Publish without Patti's review of this Post. Her flight from Hong Kong to San Francisco was a delight in FIRST CLASS. She is now in San Francisco resting in a hotel near the airport for her flight to Anchorage Sunday morning.
I appreciate this post so much. You are always superbly thorough in your coverage of whatever you're focused on.
ReplyDeleteNot knowing who won the fight, your declaration was very informative. Without watching it, I feel like I was with your photos.
Your continental breakfast looks fabulous. My goodness! Your metabolism must be cranked up compared to the average guy. You eat and eat and eat and stay thin as a rail. Lucky you!!
First class for Patti!! I'm happy for her.
Behave now, Cap.
Oh Yes Breakfast was superb! I was there at 7:45AM and the actual main event began at 11:58AM. What to do but EAT! Patti (past tense now) had a great flight home. So nice you enjoyed the Post Shaddy. Smiles ..
DeleteOne sportwriter, in comparing hits and misses, declared that Mayweather scored X number of hugs as well as 45 kilometers of running backwards.
ReplyDeleteThere is no question Manny was the overwhelming favorite of the crowd and of the press in general. I personally enjoyed the bout and felt Floyd Mayweather was clearly the better of the two in this fight.
DeleteIt would, unquestionably, have been fun to actually be there with you to observe YOU enjoying this event, and that includes: meeting John and Jeff, watching the crowds build (at the Saint and the crowd on the television), the buffet, watching the preliminary events and then...THE BIG MATCH. Just watching your enjoyment is, without exception, always an event in and of itself. Glad you had such a great time. Interestingly enough, I have heard from other people and read in sports pages that the fight was a disappointment! Go figure ... my optimist and one who determines to enjoy life in all its forms rides high again!!! Love it!!!! and you!!!!! Patti
ReplyDeleteI must admit that I got pretty wrapped up and to some degree a tad tense as I focused on the bout. You MUST always be tuned in since ONE punch can end the fight in a heartbeat. So I am not so sure that I would have been good company my Dear One. There were NO commercial breaks either in the over five hours I was there. I did enjoy how the fight played out. Cat and Mouse game to the hilt. Disappointment? It went the distance .. a full 12 rounds .. Manny had his day and Floyd won the day .. Much Love ..
DeleteSome controversy here in the US as Manny did not reveal (pre-fight) a serious shoulder injury to his rotator cuff that will require surgery.
ReplyDelete