On Saturday, Don and I headed out to our first ever boxing match. I was very, very excited about it. I don't normally like fighting of any sort, so to say I was a tad bit apprehensive was an understatement. But something about the pomp and circumstance surrounding it had me intrigued. I have always had a fondness of watching fights on TV, so this was going to be an event. Leading up to it, I had done a slight bit of research on the two boxers and much to the dismay of my fellow Mexican-Americans, I was rooting for Pacquiao. I'm a big fan of scrappy. Those of you, like me, who have never heard of him, I will give you a brief recap. He's small. He's like 5'6 (which makes me think he's that height on a good day). He's a congressman. He's a devout Catholic. He was in the military. Even more impressive is that he's won 10 world titles in 8 weight classes!!! That's insane! To be fair, I'll link Margarito too. Honestly, I remember watching him box in his earlier years. I didn't recognize him with the ornate clothes and the fancy haircut/facial hair. Don was actually a fan of his pointy beard. I thought it was neat too. If they were having a contest in style, I fully believe that Margarito would have won. I say this because he came looking like he was ready to walk the catwalk or do a promo shoot, not actually fight!
First off, here is where I give a shout out to my friend who so generously gave us the tickets. She was probably more than aware that Don and I needed a date night and this was just the thing! Prior to this, neither one of us would have willingly sought out to purchase tickets to a fight. This was definitely something new and exciting and Don and I like to have adventures! The above photo is taken from our seats. They were really amazing indeed!
There were 3 fights on the undercard (not sure if that's how you say properly or not). The first one was meh. It had me fired up and ready for the fight. Although, only one guy actually had an entrance. The next fight was not very exciting at all. I actually took a short break to buy some coffee and grab a beer for Don. The final fight before was very invigorating. The winner, Mike Jones, was the only American on the ticket. He walked into a very spiritual slow song that kinda killed the hyped up entrance to his opponent. Both of these guys were bigger in size than the previous ones. During the breaks between the rounds, the ring gals would prance around holding the digital sign. One of them would dance. One of them looked like she could barely walk. The other did a sashay-dance thing. Unfortunately, the attention was taken from them when they would cut into the dressing rooms of the players of the main event. Our section seemed to be flooded with Margarito fans and Mexican flags. There was a sprinkle of Pacquiao lovers.
Before the main event started, the lights went dark and the announcer introduced Nelly! I had no idea that we were going to be treated to a mini concert. For the record, I took the above photo. It is actually a picture of the ginormous television screen at Jerry world. Isn't that some amazing quality? He sang two songs: Country Grammar and Just a Dream. I have to say, that he has some of the best teeth I've ever seen! What a totally random thing to say, but it is true. I know they have to be capped because at one point he had a solid gold grill. I digress, back to the fight...
This is the beginning of the fight after the fighters have made their respective entrances. If you look on the screen above the ring, you can see Michael Buffer, the professional announcer. They both had strong entrances. They were both cordial. I was a little bothered that Margarito hesitated to touch gloves with Pacquaio on the first round, but didn't mind doing so during subsequent rounds. Before the start of each round, Pacquaio did the sign of the cross and pressed on.
The fight went all 12 rounds and wow. That Margarito took a beating, but I admired his courage and moxie. He would NOT give up, despite having a fractured orbital bone. Yeeesh! To read a better recap of the actual fight, I would suggest you go here (read it from the bottom to the top).
For those of you interested, I wore a long black maternity skirt and a lace tank top with lots of jewelry. It was chilly out that day, so I had on a long sweater as well as a scarf and my coat. I wore my red Toms because I knew that we would probably have to walk a ways. I had my fancy black satin shoes in hand to change into once inside the stadium. When we pulled up, I must note that we paid the premium price for parking, which was $50. Yes, that's a lot of money to pay for parking, but here's the deal. We didn't pay for the tickets. My sister watched Mari for us, so we didn't have to pay for a babysitter. Even with buying drinks (coffee & beer), we had an amazing date for not nearly what it would have cost us. Considering where we were sitting, if you added the cost of the tickets, the babysitter, parking, and beverages, you are looking at total value from $500 to $750! I was feeling like we were living large, let me tell you. Any reason to dress up and look like some pretty arm candy for my husband is a wonderful night! Despite the jeans shopping experience from earlier in the week, I was feeling gorgeous and glam. Thank you Xochitl! You have no idea how much that night meant to us.
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