Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao, better known by his ring name Manny Pacquiao, was born in Kibawe, in the Mindanao province of the Philippines’ Bukidnon, on December 17, 1978. He is a professional boxer, media personality, and politician who shot to fame for amassing the most boxing titles in history. His life away from the ring was even more impressive than his ascent from total poverty to the top of his sport.
Manny Pacquiao
The charismatic “Pac-Man” served as a national hero and unifying force in the Philippines.
When he was a teenager, Pacquiao ran away from his house and hid on a ship headed for Manila, where he trained as a fighter. He made his professional debut as a junior flyweight on January 22, 1995, at the age of sixteen. Filipino boxing fans quickly came to love him during the numerous early fights that were broadcast on the program Blow by Blow thanks to his all-action style and boyish grin. His first significant triumph came on December 4, 1998 when he defeated Chatchai Sasakul of Thailand to win the WBC flyweight title. However, due to his failure to put on weight, he lost the title to Thailand’s Medgoen Singsurat in September 1999. On June 23, 2001, Pacquiao fought Lehlo Ledwaba and won in the sixth round to claim the IBF junior featherweight title after upping his weight. It was his first fight in the country. After four successful defenses, he won the featherweight championship for The Ring magazine by knockout over Mexico’s Marco Antonio Barrera on November 15, 2003.
Pacquiao won a number of high-profile fights over the ensuing years, capturing the titles of the World Boxing Association (WBA), IBF, junior lightweight, lightweight, and WBC. He was helped along the way by American coach Freddie Roach, who gradually transformed the left-handed slugger into a versatile boxer without sacrificing his natural aggression or punching power.
On December 6, 2008, Manny Pacquiao faced Oscar De La Hoya in a well-known non-title welterweight match, which Pacquiao won. By that point, Pacquiao had fully matured as a fighter, possessing lightning-quick speed, impeccable footwork, and a significantly enhanced defense. In terms of weight, he was thought to be the best boxer in the world. Furthermore, Pacquiao had been a well-liked pay-per-view (PPV) boxing attraction since 2002, but his big break as a global sensation came with the fight with De La Hoya. The fight sold about 1 point 25 million buys and earned about $70 million, making it one of the highest-earning non-heavyweight PPV fights ever.
On May 2, 2009, Pacquiao defeated England’s Ricky Hatton in the second round with a stunning one-punch knockout to win The Ring’s junior welterweight championship (his sixth weight classHis ninth fight as a professional boxer and ninth as a champion).On November 14, when he defeated Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto in 12 rounds to win the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title, he added a record-breaking seventh championship belt to his collection. In a 12-round victory over Ghanaian boxer Joshua Clottey, Pacquiao successfully defended his title on March 13, 2010, in Arlington, Texas. Pacquiao increased his total number of weight-class titles to eight when he soundly defeated WBC super welterweight champion Antonio Margarito on November 13, 2010. At the time of the fight, Margarito weighed 17 pounds more than Pacquiao.
The WBO welterweight championship was abruptly forfeited by Pacquiao to Timothy Bradley in June 2012 after a contentious split decision. Pacquiao had won 15 consecutive fights. In December 2012, Pacquiao, who had previously defeated Juan Manuel Márquez twice and drawn once, was knocked out in the sixth round of a non-title bout. Pacquiao hadn’t been knocked out since Singsurat in 1999, until this time. He was able to win back the WBO welterweight championship in April 2014 by defeating Bradley by unanimous decision. After more than six years of negotiations between the two fighters’ camps, the highly anticipated match between Pacquiao and the undefeated Floyd Mayweather took place in May 2015. Because he was unable to mount a successful offense against Mayweather, who was arguably the best defensive fighter of his generation, Pacquiao suffered a unanimous decision loss at the time.
Following his decision victory over Bradley on April 9, 2016, Pacquiao took a four-month break from boxing before announcing his next match. On July 2, 2017, he was defeated by Australian Jeff Horn and forfeited the WBO welterweight championship. On July 15, 2018, Pacquiao defeated Lucas Matthysse to win the WBA welterweight title after bouncing back from his defeat. He became the oldest welterweight champion in boxing history at age 40 on July 20, 2019, when he defeated the previously unbeaten Keith Thurman in a split decision to win the WBA super welterweight title. After Pacquaio lost the belt in 2021 due to his inactivity, Yordenis Ugás of Cuba was given it. He faced off against Ugás later in the year and was defeated by a unanimous vote. With 62 victories, 8 defeats, and 2 draws in his career, Pacquiao subsequently announced his retirement from boxing.
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