Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao (IPA: /'pækjaʊ/; born December 17, 1978), known as Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao is a professional Filipino boxer. He is the former WBC lightweight world champion, WBC super featherweight world champion, IBF super bantamweight world champion, and WBC flyweight world champion. He has also held the Ring Magazine titles for featherweight and super featherweight. For his achievements, he became the first Filipino and Asian boxer to win four world titles in four different weight divisions. He is currently rated by the Ring Magazine as the #1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world.
Personal life
Pacquiao was born in Kibawe, Bukidnon, Mindanao and currently resides in his home town General Santos City, South Cotabato, Philippines.[2] He is married to Jinkee Pacquiao[3] and they have four children.[4]
[edit] Early career
Pacquiao started his professional boxing career at the age of 16 at 106 lbs (light flyweight). His early fights took place in small local venues and were shown on Vintage Sports' Blow by Blow, an evening boxing show. His professional debut was a 4-round bout against Edmund "Enting" Ignacio on January 22, 1995, which Pacquiao won via decision, becoming an instant star of the program. Close friend Mark Penaflorida's death in 1994 spurred the young Pacquiao to pursue a professional boxing career.
His weight increased from 106 to 113 lbs before losing in his 12th bout against Rustico Torrecampo via a third-round knockout (KO). Pacquiao had not made the weight. So he was forced to use heavier gloves than Torrecampo, thereby putting Pacquiao at a disadvantage.[5]
Shortly after the Torrecampo fight, Pacquiao settled at 112 lbs, winning the WBC Flyweight title over Chatchai Sasakul in the eighth round 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, Pacquiao lost the belt at the scales as he surpassed the weight limit of 112 lbs (51 kg).
Following his loss to Singsurat, Pacquiao gained weight anew. This time, Pacquiao went to the super bantamweight division of 122 lbs (55 kg), where he picked up the WBC International Super Bantamweight title. He defended the title five times before his chance for a world title fight came.
Pacquiao's big break came on June 23, 2001, against IBF Super Bantamweight champion Lehlohonolo Ledwaba. Pacquiao stepped into the fight as a late replacement and won the fight by technical knockout to become the IBF Super Bantamweight champion on a bout held at MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada. He defended this title five times and fought to a sixth-round draw against Agapito Sanchez in a bout that was stopped early after Pacquiao received 2 headbutts.
Pacquiao's rise
1st fight with Barrera
Pacquiao went on to defend his title four times with expert training from Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Gym, improving his hand speed and mental preparation before the match that many consider to have defined his career, a bout against Marco Antonio Barrera. Pacquiao, moving up in weight and in his first fight ever in the featherweight division, brought his power with him and defeated Barrera via a TKO in the 11th round at the Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas. Although this fight was not recognized as a title fight by any sanctioning bodies, Pacquiao was recognized as world champion by Ring Magazine after his victory,[6] and he held that title until relinquishing it in 2005.
1st fight with Marquez
Only 6 months removed from his win over Barrera, Pacquiao went on to challenge another respected Mexican counterpuncher, Juan Manuel Márquez, then 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 in the first round but lost most of the latter rounds. One of the judges later admitted to making an error in the scorecards because he scored the first round as "10-7" in favor of Pacquiao instead of the standard "10-6" for a three-knockdown round.
1st fight with Morales
Manny once again moved up another division from 126 to 130 lbs to fight another Mexican legend, three-time division champion Érik Morales on March 19, 2005, at the MGM Grand. However, this time around, at his first fight in the superfeatherweight division, Pacquiao lost the 12-round match by a unanimous decision from the judges.
WBC International Super Featherweight Title
On September 10, 2005, Manny Pacquiao knocked out Héctor Velázquez, capturing the WBC International Super Featherweight title in the process, in a fight held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
2nd bout with Morales
Pacquiao defeated Morales via a 10th-round KO in a much-anticipated rematch on January 21, 2006 in Las Vegas at Thomas and Mack Center.
Oscar Larios
On July 2, 2006, Pacquiao defeated Oscar Larios, a two-time superbantamweight champion who had moved up two weight divisions in order to face Pacquiao. Despite his camp's big promise of an early knockout, the fight went until the final round, with Pacquiao knocking down Larios two times during the 12-round bout for the WBC International Super Featherweight title held at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines.[7]
Final bout with Morales
Pacquiao and Morales fought for a third time (with the series tied 1-all) on November 18, 2006. Witnessed by a near-record crowd of 18,276, the match saw Pacquiao defeating Morales via a third-round knockout at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.[8]
After the Pacquiao-Morales rematch, Bob Arum, Pacquiao's main promoter, announced that Manny returned his signing bonus check back to Golden Boy Promotions, signaling intentions to stay with Top Rank. This resulted in GBP's decision to sue the famed fighter over contractual breaches.[9]
At the end of 2006, he was named by both HBO and Ring Magazine as the "Fighter of the Year", with HBO also naming him as the most exciting fighter of the year.
Jorge Solis
After a failed promotional negotiation with Marco Antonio Barrera's camp, Bob Arum chose Jorge Solis as Pacquiao's next opponent among several fighters that Arum offered him to fight as a replacement. The bout was held in San Antonio, Texas on April 14, 2007. In the sixth round of the bout, an accidental headbutt occurred, giving Pacquiao a cut under his left eyebrow. The fight ended in the eighth round when Pacquiao knocked Solis down twice; with Solis barely beating the count after the second knockdown, the referee (who was also a doctor) was prompted to stop the fight. The victory raised Pacquiao's win-loss-draw record to 44-3-2, with 34 KOs.
2nd bout with Barrera
On June 29, 2007, it was announced that Top Rank and GBP agreed to settle their lawsuit, meaning the long-awaited rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera will occur despite being the #1 contender for the super featherweight title of Juan Manuel Márquez.
Since Bob Arum was out on a vacation, GBP's chief executive Richard Schaefer politely declined to discuss Pacquiao’s purse from the October 6, 2007 rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera (at the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas). However, Pacquiao was likely to get a purse of $5 million, plus possibly a share of the pay-per-view rights.[10] Pacquiao defeated Barrera in their rematch via an easy unanimous decision. In the 11th round, Pacquiao's punch caused a deep cut under Barrera's right eye. Barrera retaliated with an illegal punch on the break that dazed Pacquiao but also caused the referee to deduct a point from Barrera. Two judges scored the bout 118-109, whereas the third scored it 115-112.[11]
Rematch with Marquez
On March 15, 2008, in a rematch against Juan Manuel Márquez called "Unfinished Business", Pacquiao won via a disputed split decision in a close, hard fought battle in which Pacquiao knocked Marquez down in round 3. Pacquiao won the WBC and The Ring super featherweight belts, making him the first Filipino to win three world titles in three different weight divisions (Pacquiao was a former WBC flyweight champion and former IBF super bantamweight champion).
During the postfight interview, Marquez’s camp called for an immediate rematch. Richard Schaefer, GBP CEO, offered a $6-million guarantee to Pacquiao for a rematch. Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, still stinging from the less-than-stellar revenue from Kelly Pavlik’s immediate rematch with Jermain Taylor, said the fight will probably happen but only after there is time to “put a little air under it.” Pacquiao, for his part, said "I don't think so, this business is over" because he planned to move to lightweight (135 lbs) to challenge David Díaz, the reigning WBC lightweight champion at that time. Diaz won the majority decision over Ramon Montano that night as an undercard of the "Unfinished Business" fight.
WBC Lightweight Championship
On June 28, 2008, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Pacquiao defeated David Díaz via ninth-round knockout to become the WBC lightweight champion. With the victory, Pacquiao became the only Filipino and Asian boxer to win four major titles in four weight classes and also became the first Filipino fighter to ever win a world title at lightweight.[21][22] The fight ended at 2:23 of the ninth round and was viewed by 8,362 spectators. Bob Arum announced that Pacquiao is most likely to fight November 15[23] versus 130-lb Venezuelan champion Edwin Valero or Humberto Soto in Planet Hollywood, and he also mentioned the name of WBA, WBO, and IBF lightweight champ Nate Campbell. "I can fight in November," Pacquiao stated, "Who I fight is the job of my promoter (Bob Arum)." Diaz had his best payday, $850,000, and Pacquiao earned at least $3 million.[24][25]
Bob Arum reported that the Pacquiao-David Diaz fight which made $ 12.5-M (250,000 pay-per-view hits at $ 49.95 per hit), paled in comparison to the 400,000 in the Marquez showdown. The sales reached over $20 million. Pacquiao’s 3 classic fights with Erik Morales earned a combined sales of 1 million pay-per-view hits. After HBO and Top Rank get their share, Pacquiao and Diaz will get theirs based on the contract, that is, in addition to the $ 3 million contract pay. Official records revealed an attendance of only 8,362 tickets of the seating capacity of 12,000.[26]
Meanwhile, WBC president Don José Sulaimán clarified that Pacquiao is not a 5-division but 4-division world champion, because the November 2003 Barrera fight was a non-title bout.[27]
Holding both the WBC Super Featherweight and Lightweight titles following the win, Pacquiao decided to vacate his super featherweight title in July 2008 in order to defend his lightweight crown.[28]
The Dream Match (Pacquiao vs. De La Hoya)
On December 6, 2008, Pacquiao faced Oscar De La Hoya at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, in a fight called Dream Match. Pacquiao asserted himself over De La Hoya from the first round till the eighth round. De La Hoya's corner threw in the towel before the start of the 9th round. Pacquiao won via technical knockout. [29][30]
Presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank, Inc., the bout was scheduled as a 12-round, non-title fight contested at the 147-pound welterweight limit. Although Pacquiao went into the fight widely recognized as the leading pound-for-pound boxer in the world, some boxing pundits had speculated that 147 pounds could be too far above his natural weight against the larger De La Hoya.[31]
Pacquiao received $15 to 30 million (share of the pay-per-view), plus a guaranteed amount.[32]
Tickets reportedly sold out just hours after they went on sale. The total gate revenues were said to be nearly $17 million dollars. That amount apparently gave the bout the second largest gate revenue in boxing history.[33]
The Battle of East and West
On May 2, 2009, Pacquiao is set to battle Ricky Hatton for the latter's IBO and Ring Magazine Light Welterweight titles.[34] Since the Wembley Stadium in the United Kingdom had been rejected as the venue for this championship bout, it would be held in the United States at MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.[35]
The fight was placed in jeopardy due to disputes with both camps over the fight purse money. Pacquiao wanted a 60-40 share while Hatton insisted on an equal 50-50 share, but later offered Pacquiao a 52-48 split.[36] Arum believed that Hatton's popularity in the sport will bring enormous pay-per-view revenue, which other fighters would not be able to contribute.[37]
On the other hand, Pacquiao's astute trainer Freddie Roach argued that a 60/40 share was fair for his ward because Pacquiao just destroyed De La Hoya, while Hatton was knocked out by Floyd Mayweather Jr. However, Hatton and his camp believed he deserved a more even split as he was the reigning Ring Light Welterweight champion, a division in which he remains undefeated, and a large draw in the U.K..[38] If the fight with Hatton would not materialize on a 55/45 share, which should favor Pacquiao, Roach stated that they would look into either fighting Mayweather, Venezuelan knockout artist Edwin Valero or even Pacquiao's rugged arch rival Juan Manuel Marquez.[39][40] Meanwhile, Hatton’s lawyer threatened to file a suit against Pacquiao if the Filipino fighter backed out of a “verbal contract” for a 50-50 split in earnings for their superfight.[41]
Since Pacquiao had not signed off on the fight contract and had not accepted the 52-48 share that Bob Arum renegotiated with the Hatton's camp, the mega fight was officially scrapped. Both Arum and Roach stated that they were unable to contact Pacquiao during the final days of negotiations. Roach was quoted as saying that "a $12 million guarantee today is unbelievable" and that he hoped Pacquiao "comes to his senses".[42] Arum even speculated that the world's best pound for pound warrior might just have to sit out for the remainder of the year.[43].
The already scuppered mega fight between Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton had been resurrected, after Pacquiao confirmed that he had changed his mind and had signed the fight contract. Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, was jubilant about the decision of Pacquiao to pursue his fight with Hatton, and even went on record and proclaimed that his boxer (Pacquiao) would receive an unprecedented $20 million for this junior welterweight mega fight.[44] This super fight has a great chance of breaking pay-per-view records, revenue wise, due to the massive boxing fans from UK who would be rooting for their countryman Ricky Hatton, and of course, the charisma and drawing power of the pound for pound King Manny Pacquiao in the international realm.
HBO would air the fight between Pacquiao and Hatton on May 2, 2009. The most recognized pay-per-view infrastructure would present 24/7 series for both gladiators leading up to their junior welterweight showdown at MGM Grand Hotel and Casino.[45]
