How the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Fight Played in the Philippines

In Manny Pacquiao’s native Manila, millions stopped what they were doing to watch the fight. Maxim captured the moment. 

The pride that Filipinos feel toward Manny Pacquiao cannot be described. The fighter who came from nothing to arrive at the center of the sports universe is a constant source of inspiration for the country, which has resiliently battled through crippling poverty, natural disaster, and competing foreign interests.

So when Pacquiao took the ring on Saturday night (which was the middle of Sunday in the Philippines), the country of a hundred million stopped everything to watch the fight. Photographer Rafael Roy was in Manila for Maxim at the moment a nation came to a standstill, watching its native son battle on the world’s greatest stage.—Max Rivlin-Nadler

Photos by Rafael Roy