Emmanuel “Manny”Dapidran Pacquiao also known as “Pacman” was born on December 17, 1978, in Kibawe, Bukidnon, Philippines.
He was the fourth among six children of Rosalio Pacquiao and Dionesa Dapidran-Pacquiao. His parents separated when he was in sixth grade, after his mother discovered that his father was living with another woman.
His siblings are Liza Silvestre-Onding and Domingo Silvestre (his siblings from the first husband of his mother) and Isidra Pacquiao-Paglinawan, Albert “Bobby” Pacquaio and Rogelio Pacquiao.
Pacquiao, at the age of 14, left his family to move in Manila. His first job in Manila was scrapping off rust at a local metal yard. He lives in the street and when he has nothing to eat, Manny would go to some restaurants in Manila where he would wash the dishes or clean the kitchen in exchange for food.
Manila had been a remarkable place for Manny, for it was also here when he had met Ben Delgado, owner of a gym in Sampaloc, who saw potential in Manny’s fists. Delgado trained Manny and allowed him to stay in a small room inside the gym.
In year 2000, he got married to Maria Geraldine “Jinkee” Jamoro. Together, they were blessed with five children, Emmanuel Jr., Michael Stephen, Mary Divine Grace, Queen Elizabeth and Israel.
How did Pacquiao’s Boxing Career Begin?
In 1995, Manny Pacquiao started his boxing career professionally at the age of 16. He won his first fight against Edmund “Enting” Ignacio in a local boxing show that aired weekly on Philippine TV called “Blow by Blow.” After beating Ignacio, Pacquiao become an instant star of the show.
In his 12th bout with Rustico Torrecampo in 1996, Manny Pacquiao experienced his first loss after being knocked out by his opponent.
In 1998, Pacquiao won his first major championship taking the World Boxing Council flyweight title against Chatchai Sasakul of Thailand.
On June 23 2001, Pacquiao experienced another big break as he won the fight against International Boxing Federation (IBF) Super Bantamweight title holder Lehlohonolo Ledwada and claimed his second major boxing world title.
On November 15, 2003, Pacquiao faced Marco Antonio Barrera at the Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, in a fight that many consider to have defined his career. Pacquiao, who was fighting at featherweight for the first time, brought his power with him and defeated Barrera via technical knockout in the eleventh round, the only knockout loss in Barrera’s career, and won the Lineal & The Ring Featherweight Championship, making him the first Filipino and Asian to become a three-division world champion, a fighter who won world titles in three different weight divisions. He defended the title twice before relinquishing it in 2005.
After his fight with Barrera, Pacquiao challenged Juan Manuel Marquez, who at that time held both the World Boxing Association (WBA) and IBF Featherweight titles. The bout between Pacquiao and Marquez was scored as a draw.
In order to reach for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) International and vacant International Boxing Association (IBA) Super Featherweight titled, Pacquiao on March 19, 2005 moved up to fight another Mexican legend and three-division world champion Erik Morales. At this time, Pacquiao lost the twelve-round match by a unanimous decision from the judges.
Six months after his fight with Morales, Pacquiao had another fight with Hector Velazquez where he claimed the WBC International Super Featherweight title. The title was defended for five times.
On January 21, 2006, Pacquiao got a rematch against Morales. In the tenth round, Morales for the first time in his boxing career got knocked out by Manny Pacquiao.
For the third time, Pacquiao and Morales held another bout on November 18, 2006. Morales’ was again defeated by Pacquiao knocking him out in a third-round match.
In December 2008, Pacquiao was named victor of an eight-round, non-title welterweight bout against famed boxer Oscar De La Hoya.
On June 9, 2012, Pacquiao lost a 12-round bout with American boxer Timothy Bradley, in a 115-113 decision by three judges.
In December 2012, Pacquiao suffered another difficult defeat. In the sixth round of his welterweight bout in Las Vegas, Pacquiao was knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez.
Following a win over Brandon Rios in November 2013, Pacquiao emerged the victor in an April 2014 rematch with Bradley to regain the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title. He then scored his third straight win by holding off Chris Algieri in November.
In February 2015, it was announced that Pacquiao would fight undefeated American Floyd Mayweather Jr. at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 2, 2015. Billed the “Fight of the Century,” the long-anticipated bout between the era’s two signature boxers brought in a record purse via gate receipts and pay-per-view buys. Despite fighting with an injured right shoulder, Pacquiao gamely went after Mayweather but was unable to land many effective punches. He lost a unanimous decision to drop his record to 57-6-2.
Want to know more? Here are some other interesting things you may not know about Manny Pacquiao: Manny Pacquiao Trivia
References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manny_Pacquiao http://www.biography.com/people/manny-pacquiao-20851009#political-career http://sporteology.com/10-amazing-facts-about-manny-pacquiao/
