Enter Manny Pacquiao, a man who can unite a divided country with every punch and stride. I first realized that Manny could become the boxer that he is now during the first fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, which resulted in a somewhat controversial draw. Few people knew how special Manny was prior to that match, although he had fought and beaten another Mexican in Barrera via a TKO.
It was the match with Marquez that brought not only this Filipino but the whole Philippines buzzing with excitement. At that moment, whatever was going on in my life, I felt that everything was alright. I didn't expect others to understand how we felt at that moment, because I knew that this type of greatness comes once in a lifetime and like myself, he was Filipino. Had you asked Filipinos around the world who their favorite sports stars were, most names would probably come from the NBA.
With Manny's ascension in boxing, many are putting his name at the top of their lists. Although the match with Marquez ended in a draw, I knew that it was only the beginning. This was the start of something great, and Manny wouldn't let us down. Not long after, in January of , his goals gained some traction; at age 16, he stepped into the ring for his first professional bout, against Edmund Ignacio.
Pacquiao won the fight in four rounds, in a unanimous decision. The victory propelled him on a successful boxing run that would encompass the better part of two decades. In December , Pacquiao won a bout against Chatchai Sasakul of Thailand, taking the World Boxing Council flyweight title — his first major championship. Moving to a higher weight division, he scored a sixth-round technical knockout of Lehlo Ledwaba in to capture the International Boxing Federation junior featherweight title.
He went on to win several high-profile bouts in the years thereafter, claiming world titles in a total of eight different weight divisions.
Ten years after his win against Sasakul, in December , Pacquiao was named victor of an eight-round, non-title welterweight bout against famed American boxer Oscar De La Hoya.
Pacquiao won the fight by a knockout in the second round, taking The Ring 's junior welterweight championship. Later that year, in November, he beat Puerto Rico's Miguel Cotto in a round bout, for the World Boxing Organization welterweight title—an honor he defended in , when he outlasted Ghanaian boxer Joshua Clottey in a round fight. On June 9, , Pacquiao lost a round bout with American boxer Timothy Bradley, in a decision by three judges.
The fight was an incredible upset for boxing fans, as Pacquiao had won seven rounds to Bradley's five. The fight, broadcast on pay-per-view, was watched by thousands of fans worldwide. The judges' decision spurred wide speculation, as both critics and fans argued that Pacquiao should have been named the victor.
That December, Pacquiao suffered another difficult defeat. He was knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez in the sixth round of their welterweight bout in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao's impeccable footwork, speed and quick jabs have kept boxing fans on their feet. And his endearing smile, charm and chiseled physique have only helped to boost his public appeal. He was also named "Fighter of the Decade" for the s by the Boxing Writers Association of America, among various other honors.
He then scored his third straight win by holding off Chris Algieri in November. 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 Following another loss, to Australia's Jeff Horn in July , it seemed that the former champion was nearing the end of the road in his boxing career. However, after a year off, Pacquiao scored a seventh-round knockout of Argentina's Lucas Matthysse, showing that he remained a formidable presence in the ring.
In , Pacquiao made his first attempt to enter politics, running for a seat in the House of Representatives of the Philippines.
He was defeated by incumbent Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio, and returned to life as a full-time boxer. In , however, Pacquiao formed a new Filipino political party, the People's Champ Movement, and again ran for a legislative seat. He won in a landslide, beating opponent Roy Chiongbian to become the Sarangani province representative in May
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