AFP
MANILA, Philippines—Pirated copies of Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao’s historic demolition of Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto were selling like hot cakes on Manila streets Monday, less than 24 hours after the fight.
“We’ve sold over 150 copies since this morning, and we are asking our suppliers for more copies,” said Eric, a vendor at a mall in the Philippine capital who gave only his first name to avoid getting in trouble with police.
“People keep asking if we have Pacquiao (on DVD),” he said.
The Pacquiao DVDs sell for about a dollar each and come in plastic casings complete with the promotional sleeve of Sunday’s fight in Las Vegas.
They are far cheaper than the P500-800 (about $10 to $17) a ticket sports bars and restaurants charged patrons to watch a live satellite feed of the fight—a prohibitive price for many in this poor Southeast Asian nation.
The bout was later shown a few hours later on delayed free-to-air television, but fans said watching their hero once was just not enough.
“I will watch it again and again tonight. He was so good in beating Cotto,” said security guard Dexter Pojas, who bought himself one DVD and three extra copies for friends at the mall.
Piracy is a major problem in the Philippines, with illegal copies of Hollywood movies and television shows making their way to the hands of Manila street hawkers shortly after they are released.
Pacquiao stopped Cotto in the 12th and final round after it was clear the Puerto Rican was totally overwhelmed by the Filipino’s superior speed and punching power.
Pacquiao took Cotto’s World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight belt, becoming the only fighter in history to win seven world titles in as many weight classes.
