Manny Pacquiao has become a household name, not only, to the boxing world but the entire combat sports community. Hailing from the General Santos City, Philippines, Emmanuel Dapidran’ Manny Pacquiao was the second-highest-paid athlete in the world in 2012 with total earnings of $62 million. His unmatched talent made him the only boxer to be a world champion in eight different weight divisions. He is also the first-ever boxer to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes.
With Pacquiao's dominant reign for many years, he was named the 'Fighter of the Decade' by the World Boxing Council (WBC) and the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) for the decade lasting from 2001-2010. He was awarded The Best Fighter ESPY award twice in 2009 and 2011.
FOR 7 YEARS, THE PACMAN WAS RATED AS THE BEST POUND-FOR-POUND BOXER IN THE WORLD.
It was back in 1990 in the province of General Santos City, Philippines when Pacquiao was introduced to boxing by his uncle, Sardo Mejia, at the age of 12 years old after dropping out of school. This was the moment that Pacquiao often speaks about as it would spark an unforeseen passion and drive in the young Filipino to be one of the best boxers in the world. According to his autobiography, he described watching Mike Tyson's defeat to James Douglas in 1990 with his uncle as an experience that "changed his life forever". Back in his hometown, he beat every single opponent in an open-for-all boxing match that helped transform himself from a lanky school dropout to a junior boxing champion.
Regardless of his early success at such a young age, his family was struggling in extreme poverty and hunger that drove his father to kill his pet dog for dinner. This news did not sit well with the young Pacman and as he couldn't forgive his father, he ended up leaving home. He was forced to sleep on cardboard boxes and sold bread on the streets to be able to get enough money for food and make a small living. At one point, he was using his extraordinary boxing ability to win matches for $2 each, as a means of escaping poverty.
After gaining more popularity, he ended up moving to Manila and continued to win more fights but wasn't making enough to survive so, he ended up getting a job at a local gym as a gardener, cleaner and general construction assistant while boxing on the side. His extensive training, perseverance, and determination show how much he wants to succeed in the sport.
As time goes on, he gained more and more popularity after beating fighters from South Korea, Japan and Thailand at the early age of just 19. Pacquiao won his first World Champion title by beating Chatchai Sasukul, the current reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) World Flyweight Champion. The real turning point for the young Filipino's career came when we won a fight against world-class featherweight boxer, Marco Antonio Barrera with a TKO. After that, we was recognised by everyone as a force to be reckoned with.
