Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manny_Pacquiao

Emmanuel “Manny” D. Pacquiáo, born December 17, 1978) at Bukidnon, aka “Pacman,” “The Destroyer” and sometimes referred to in the Philippines as ang Pambansang Kamao (”the National Fist”) is the reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) International Super Featherweight Champion (since 2005), former The Ring People’s Featherweight Champion (2003-2005), former IBF Super Bantamweight Champion (2001-2004), and former WBC Flyweight Champion (1998-1999). He has a record of 42 wins, 3 losses, and 2 draws, with 33 wins coming by way of knockout.

Early career

Pacquiáo started his professional boxing career in 1995 at 106 pounds. His early fights were usually in small venue were shown on Vintage Sports’ evening boxing show Blow by Blow hosted by John Ray Betita. He became an instant star of the program.

His weight increased from 106 to 113 pounds before losing in his 12th bout against Rustico Torrecampo via a third round technical knockout (TKO), although on replays, it was clear that Pacquiáo had been stopped by a low blow. During the fight as commented by well-known sports newscaster Quinito Henson, Pacquiáo clearly did not make the weight so he was forced to use heavier gloves than that of Torrecampo which served as a disadvantage.^{[citation needed]}

Shortly after the Torrecampo fight Pacquiáo settled at 112 pounds, winning the WBC Flyweight title over Chatchai Sasakul only to lose it in his second defense against Medgoen Singsurat, or Medgoen 3K Battery, via a third round knockout on a bout held at Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. Technically, Pacquiáo lost the belt at the scales by surpassing the required weight of 112 lb (51 kg).

Following his loss to Singsurat, Pacquiáo gained weight anew, this time stopping at the super bantamweight division of 122 lb (55 kg) where he picked up the WBC International Super Bantamweight title, defending it five times before his next world title fight came.

Pacquiáo’s big break came on June 23rd, 2001, against IBF Super Bantamweight champion Lehlohonolo Ledwaba. Pacquiáo stepped into the fight as a late replacement and walked out of the fight as the newly crowned IBF Super Bantamweight champion on a bout held at MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Pacquiáo went on to defend his title four times before the match that many consider to have defined his career, against the Mexican boxing idol, Marco Antonio Barrera of Mexico. Pacquiáo defeated Barrera via a TKO in the 11th round at the Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas.

Only six months removed from his win over Barrera, Pacquiáo went on to challenge another respected Mexican brawler, Juan Manuel Márquez, holder of the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) Featherweight titles. The fight held at the MGM Grand ended in a controversial draw after he knocked down Márquez three times on the first round.

In a bout held at Taguig City, Philippines, Pacquiáo fought against Fahsan (3K-Battery) Por Thawatchai. Pacquiáo sent Por Thawatchai to the canvas three times en route to a knockout in the fourth round. A left uppercut to the jaw knocked down the Thai fighter that lifted his two feet off the canvas and ended the fight.

Pacquiáo once again tipped the scales at 130 pounds in order to fight another Mexican fighter, three-time division champion Erik Morales on 19th of March, 2005 at the MGM Grand. However, Pacquiáo lost the 12 round match held at the by a unanimous decision from the judges. Pacquiáo had to fight while sustaining a cut on his right eye due to an accidental headbutt for most of the fight against Morales.

On September 10, 2005, Manny Pacquiáo knocked out Hector Velázquez, capturing the WBC International Super Featherweight title in the process on a fight held at Staples Center, Los Angeles, California.

Pacquiáo defeated Erik Morales by TKO in a much-anticipated rematch on January 21, 2006 in Las Vegas at Thomas and Mack Center. The two fighters are scheduled for a final confrontation on November 18, 2006 in Las Vegas.

Pacquiáo-Larios fight in the Philippines.

Pacquiáo was in the limelight again during the first week of February 2006 when a girl working in a Manila billiard hall claimed that he was the father of her son, born out of a whirlwind affair with the boxer. Allegedly, the boxer was not giving her child financial support, prompting her to sue Pacquiáo and demanding 25 million pesos in child support.

On March 21st Pacquiáo was sent to the hospital due to exhaustion, brought about by his bar-hopping, various product endorsements, and billiards playing (Pacquiáo even qualified in the final stages of Philippine 9-ball Open). Pacquiáo’s trainer Freddie Roach had commented earlier about his concerns of Pacquiáo’s late night lifestyle and warned that the boxer is in danger of losing both his edge and his focus. Roach noted that there are too many distractions surrounding Pacquiáo in the Philippines, including sponsorship deals, personal appearances, nocturnal activities as well as his circle of friends [1].

On July 2, Pacquiáo defeated another Mexican, Oscar Larios, the two-time super-bantamweight champion. Despite his camp’s big promise of an early knockout, the fight went the distance with Pacquiáo knocking down the Mexican two times during the 12-round bout for the WBC International Super Featherweight title held at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines.[2] His win by decision is perceived by some Filipinos as underwhelming because a majority of these people were heavily influenced by the early knockout promises that Pacquiáo’s camp openly declared.[3] The fact (from a less biased point of view) is that the fight was a dominating performance by Pacquiáo, winning a unanimous decision, around 10 out of 12 rounds on the judges’ scorecards, and knocking down the hardy and well-prepared Larios twice.

Pacquiáo is scheduled to face Erik “El Terrible” Morales for a third rematch on November 18 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. [4] It was titled Sino ang Tatapos (lit. “Who will finish?”) by ABS-CBN, the match’s exclusive carrier, in reference to their having won a match during their previous fights (the November 19 being their third fight).

Pacquiáo announced in August of 2006 that he may retire as early as 2007. In interviews with reporters in General Santos City, Pacquiáo stated that he wished to focus on managing his various businesses, especially the Manny Pacquiáo Promotions. He did not want to retire from boxing with physical or mental disabilities since he wants to enjoy life after retirement. [5]

In September 2006, Pacquiao signed a major deal with Golden Boy Promotions, headed by Oscar de la Hoya, which is good for seven fights [6]. This development was confirmed by Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach.

Under the deal, Pacquiao is guaranteed a prize money for each fight. With regard to profits made on each fight, Pacquiao will be receiving at least 90% while the remaining 10% will go to Golden Boy Promotions.

In connection with his new two-year deal with Nike, Pacquiao turned down the golden opportunity to shoot an international television commercial with famous NBA superstar Kobe Bryant[7]. Their scheduled lunch date together was also cancelled. Had he agreed to shoot the commercial, he would have been featured as the only boxer among the many star athletes featured, including Maria Sharapova, Lebron James and Tiger Woods.

A movie based on his life has been produced and was released on June 21, 2006. The movie is titled Pacquiao: The Movie featuring Filipino actor Jericho Rosales as Manny Pacquiáo and is directed by Joel Lamangan [8]. However, according to the producers, the movie was a commercial flop at the local box office, as it grossed only P4,522,196 (against a budget of P50 million). Pacquiáo himself acted in a few locally-produced movies.

Shortly after winning his rematch with Erik Morales, Pacquiáo produced the song “Para Sa ‘Yo” (Filipino: “For You”) which became a hit single all over the Philippines. It expressed a nationalistic theme as well as Pacquiáo’s struggles in the ring. The release of the song came weeks before his second bout with Morales, leading up to the promos to the fight. While not a great singer by professional standards^{[citation needed]}, Pacquiáo’s victory greatly contributed to the song’s popularity.

During her 6th State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 24, 2006 in Quezon City, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo cited Pacquiáo as one of the nation’s modern day heroes. “Mabuhay ka, Manny,” said Arroyo [9]. In return, the champion delivered his own speech endorsing Arroyo. “the President said many good things in the SONA,” Pacquiáo remarked [10].

It is not widely known that World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Superstar The Undertaker was actually a part of Pacquiáo’s entourage during the Pacquiáo vs. Velázquez fight in 2005. An avid boxing fan, The Undertaker was the person who carried the US flag while leading Team Pacquiáo to the ring. This was also confirmed by another WWE Superstar, Filipino-Greek Batista. Batista revealed this during a televised interview in the Philippines while promoting an upcoming WWE promotion which was set to be shown in the country (WWE SmackDown! Survivor Series Tour 2006).

Pacquiao owns a local basketball team in the Mindanao Visayas Basketball Association called as PacMan Gensan, a team based in his hometown of General Santos City. Pacquiao even suited up for the team for a few games during the first conference of the said league.

Pacquiáo is also featured in the video games Fight Night: Round 2 and Fight Night: Round 3

Means Who will finish? in english. When Pacquiao or Morales will won the 3rd part of Pacquiao vs. Morales. It will be held on November 19, 2006 in ABS-CBN and Solar Sports. If Pacquiao nor Morales won, they will be winner in Pacquiao vs. Morales. The scores/records are Pacquiao-1 and Morales-1.

For some time, many have speculated that Manny Pacquiao will enter politics after he ends his boxing career. While boxing is far from over for him, Pacquiao admitted that he is thinking about starting a career in politics. In fact, he quietly visited the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), escorted by Alimocoy Atienza (son of current Manila Mayor Lito Atienza), to transfer his residence from General Santos City to Manila[11]. He will run as vice-mayor of Manila in the 2007 Elections (citation needed).