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DALLAS, Texas -- The coverage team of Reyfort Media Group led by your truly traveled all the way from Vancouver to Arlington, Texas, venue of the first-ever world boxing championship in Jerry Jones’ mammoth Cowboys Stadium dubbed “The Event.”

In Arlington, history was made: the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey duel for the Filipino’s WBO welterweight championship earned both praises and jeers from boxing fans from all corners of the globe. When Dallas Cowboys franchise holder Jones teamed up with Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, there was no turning back for Pacquiao’s gargantuan exposure in this scenic Texas metropolis known for its buffalo steak and hospitality. It was the world championship that breached the expected 45,000 (51,000 people came from all over the United States and Mexico) audience even if Pacquiao, the world best pound-for-pound boxer, was up against a relatively unknown black challenger from Ghana who has repulsed 20 of his 35 victims by knockout.

It was actually a dry run for the possible showdown between Pacquiao (51-3-2, 35 KOs) and Floyd Mayweather Jr. (40-0) sometime in September or November 2010 and the crowd response was tremendous that Jones was beaming with pride and confidence when he appeared in our post fight press conference midnight of March 13 at the stadium’s pathway. Jones himself gave his 100 percent support to “The Event” although he is known as one of the demigods of the National Football League (NFL) that dabbled in boxing through the influence of the 77-year-old Arum.

From his gestures and body language, Jones appears to be heading for another blockbuster project in tandem with Arum to stage the richest boxing bout ever--the Pacquiao versus Mayweather--on the same stadium equipped with a 72-foot high-definition screen. So even if Clottey did not visit the canvas as what most boxing fans had been anticipating, “The Event” still made the Cowboys Stadium bigger than life with the stadium’s grandeur and prestige. Never mind if Pacquiao was able to hack out only a unanimous decision verdict; never mind if Clottey disappointed the crowd with his refusal to mix it up and his aping of Houdini. The most important was the Cowboys Stadium made it to sports headlines all over the world and the marketing of the multi-million Pacquiao-Mayweather encounter has beckoned.

Top Rank has no choice but to succumb to the overwhelming demands from boxing fans to bring in Mayweather next for the Pacman. All Mayweather has to do now is to hurdle the dangerous Shane Mosely on May 1 in Las Vegas and prepare himself for the biggest fight of his career against the hard hitting Filipino speedster. I have the gut feeling that the next megabuck fight will bring us back again to this historic city and the Reyfort Media Group can’t wait for this another golden opportunity to witness city unfold before our eyes.

Meanwhile, I doff my hat off Joshua “The Grandmaster” Clottey for admitting that “he lost for the first time in his career” when Pacquiao out shuttled him in 12 heats. He was a gentleman and sports scribes didn’t find it hard to approach and interview him. No wonder, Pacquiao says he has big respect for this charismatic fighter who knows how to give credit where credit is due. {jathumbnail off)

Pacquiao after the fight (Photos by Julian-Rey Fortaleza)