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PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, May 5 (UPI) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is sticking to his guns and reaffirming his unflagging support for Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao – but at a price. The Cambodian leader blasted Mayweather's Saturday victory over Pacquiao, and said that in protest he will not pay the $5,000 bet he waged – and lost.
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"I owe you, but I will not pay," Hun said while suggesting a rematch take place in China away from U.S. influence, according to The Cambodia Daily.
He gave no other details on the wager.
Gambling within Cambodia is illegal among Cambodian nationals, and Hun has said he has no income other than a government salary of about $1,000 a month, The Financial Times reported.
Casinos in Cambodia only cater to foreigners, and domestic gamblers frequent an underground industry, according to FT.
Virak Ou, an activist and analyst in Phnom Penh, said Cambodians have become "desensitized" to corruption.
"A lot of things that are said by our leaders would be huge scandals in the U.S. or Europe," he said. "The sad thing about all this is that people expect their leaders to be rich."
Hun, however, expressed more concern about the judges of Saturday's fight than over the comments he made about his gamble.
"I didn't expect that American judges would be so weak," he said.
Referring to Pacquiao, he said, "[The judges] made a unanimous decision to make a winner become a loser."
Phay Siphan, a Cambodian government spokesman, said Hun was "just joking," and the bet may have not been seriously intended to lead to an exchange of cash.
