Boxing Night at the Nogueira Hill Drive Home (Photos)

Every year, whenever there is a big boxing match, the house of Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce President Michael Nogueira comes alive with the sound of people cheering in front of a TV screen that seems almost as wide as Hill Drive.

Saturday was such a night for the Nogueiras—Michael and his wife, Eugénie—who are known for the parties they host at their residence on Hill Drive—on the southeast corner where the legendary street meets Eagle Rock Boulevard.

The occasion for Saturday night’s get-together was a keenly anticipated boxing match between Manny Pacquiao—the famous Filipino champ who’s also a politician back home—and the Mexican boxer Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas. (Tickets cost as much as $1,500 each, according to an LAPD officer who texted Michael from the match.)

Amid cries of “Marquez! Marquez!” in the Nogueira backyard, some 40 guests leaned back on cane furniture and patio chairs under the warm glow of heat lamps. A full-spread taco stand was nearby to feed everyone—and a gigantic keg of Pacifico beer kept the guests in just the mood to watch two 21^st-century gladiators battle it out.

In the end, Pacquiao won. "Was it a good fight?" asked Michael of one more than one guest. Oh yes—and an even better party.