PACQUIAO'S PROFESSIONAL CAREER  «

BRAVEHEART and all that spunk, People’s champ Manny Pacquiao endured more than he could from the start of his boxing career.

When most of the boys of his age are enjoying parties, Pacquiao hit punching bags left and right with all vigour, turning to a boxing pro as early as 16 years old. He made his reverberating boxing debut on Vintage Sports' Blow by Blow (an evening boxing show with John Ray Betita) by demolishing Edmund Ignacio in four rounds via decision on January 22, 1995. The win signalled the birth of one of the hardest punchers at any weight.

Baptism of fire

True enough, then 106-pound Pacquiao won nine straight battles, five of them knockouts, before losing to Rustico Torrecampo via a third round technical knockout (TKO). Pacquiao’s Torrecampo battle is his first under the 113 pound division that he needed to use heavier gloves than the usual to make the weigh-in. After being sent to canvass for the first time, the Gen-San native settled at 112 pounds.

The decision worked wonders for the Pacquiao as he regained his winning form with 13 straight triumphs en route to his two titles, the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation Flyweight title and World Boxing Council flyweight title against Chokchai Chockviva and Chartchai Sasakul, respectively. His WBC title came two weeks before he turned 20 on December 1998.

The victory, however, was cut short as he only managed to defend his first title WBC title once, against Gabriel Mira, on April 24, 1999. The second title defense was forgettable, as Pacquiao was knocked out by Medgoen Singsurat at the third round after weighing more than the required 112 lb.

Pacquiao gained weight anew, this time settling for the super bantamweight division of 122 lb (55 kg). The bantamweight fold became a second-home to the feisty Pacquiao, as he went on to destroy one rival after another to conquer the WBC International Super Bantamweight title to go with five masterful title defenses. His preys included Reynante Jamili, Arnel Barotillo, Seung-Kon Chae, Nadel Hussein, Tetsutora Senrima, and Wethya Sakmuangklang.

When it rains, it pours

With his hard work taking toll, lady luck continued to be on Pacquiao’s side. On June 23, 2001, the Gen-San hero got a crack for the IBF’s Super Bantamweight title unintentionally, as he stepped into the ring as a mere late-breaking replacement. It turned out that Pacquiao exceeded everybody’s expectations and won against Lehlohonolo Ledwaba in his debut bout held at the famed MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Philippine southpaw did not stop from there. He proved to be a no one-tournament wonder as he registered an equally intimidating title retention bid once more four times more, capped by a hard-beating thwarting of Mexican boxing idol and former three-time world champion Marco Antonio Barrera in an 11th round knockout at the Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas in November 2003. With Pacquiao’s drubbing of Barrera, HBO boxing analyst Larry Merchant christened Pacquiao as the new king of boxing.

Later, Pacquiao challenged another revered Mexican counter puncher, Juan Manuel Márquez, for the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) Featherweight titles. The results were not really favourable, as their showdown ended up in draw despite Pacquiao sending Marquez down on the floor for three times in the first round. But the nitty-gritty Filipino boxing icon found solace in his IBF Featherweight Title Eliminator fourth-round knockout win against Fahsan (3K Battery) Por Thawachai—heavily fueled by the hometown crowd at the Fort, Taguig City, Philippines.

But Pacquiao’s toughest challenge on featherweight division came in his first of the three legendary tangles with three-time division champion Erik Morales on March 19, 2005. Former two-time world champion Pacquiao was outplayed by Morales in 12 painstakingrounds, as Pacquiao suffered a bad cut on his left eye in the sixth round. Since then, blood continuously fell down Pacquiao’s face that immensely affected his court vision.

Pacman then wasted no time to reclaim his lost pride and made short work on Hector Velasquez on September 10 of the same year to capture the WBC International Super Featherweight title at Staples Center, Los Angeles, California.

The Pacman-El Terrible showdown resumed January 21, 2006 at Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. Pacquiao did himself and the Filipino people a larger than life favour this time as he sent Morales down to the canvass in a 10th round technical knockout win—the first time that Morales was knocked out in his entire career.

Seemingly enraged, the aggressive lefthanded Pacquiao devoured another Mexican in the name of Oscar Larios. Larios, former two-time super-bantamweight champion, tried to be resilient but Pacquiao’s power punches went beyond the Mexican could take and was knocked down twice in the 12th round for the WBC International Super Featherweight title defense held at the Big Dome last July 2, 2006.

The Pacquiao-Morales rivalry had its third and final instalment, with the series tied at one win apiece on November 18, 2006 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. A near record breaking crowd of 18,276 witnessed Pacman’s vanguard speed coupled with relentless punches that downed Morales in three round—a fitting finale to the highly revered boxing saga.

After the Morales demolition, Pacquiao faced the erstwhile undefeated Jorge Solis for his fourth defense of his WBC International Super Featherweight champion belt on April 14, 2007. It turned out to be a bloody one just like Pacquiao’s first encounter with Morales as both fighters collided in the sixth round of the bout on an accidental head butt. Pacquiao had a cut under his left eyebrow, but the wounded boxer caught fire and released an array of lethal punches that sent Solis down in the 8th round twice.

Pacquiao’s next defense of the International Super Featherweight belt found him facing old nemesis Marco Antonio Barrera for a rematch of their 2003 match. On October 6, 2007, the two boxers met anew on the canvass and despite the fight going the distance and being decided by the judges’ scorecards, Pacquiao defeated Barrera in their rematch with an easy unanimous decision.

Pacquiao’s string of victories made it only logical that he face one of the current champions in the Super Featherweight division. This set up the rematch with then WBC Super Featherweight champion Juan Manual Marquez. In a highly disputed match on March 15, 2008, Pacquiao won the WBC and Ring Magazine Super Featherweight belts from Marquez in a split decision. Marquez’s camp called for an immediate rematch but Pacquiao stated that his business with Marquez was over and that he was planning to move to Lightweight to challenge David Diaz.

Less than three months later, the Pacquiao-Diaz title fight materialized and in front of a crowd of about 8,000 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, the Filipino boxer made history by downing Diaz in the ninth round and capturing his fourth championship belt – the first Filipino and first Asian boxer ever to hold four championship belts in four divisions.

 

 

TALE OF THE TAPE  «

Full Name: Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao
Alias: PacMan, “the Destroyer”, People’s Champ, Idol
Hometown: General Santos City, Philippines
Birthplace: Bukidnon, Philippines
Rated at: Super Featherweight
World Rank: 1 / 931
Date of Birth: December 17, 1978
Age: 28
Reach: 67”
Stance Southpaw
Height: 5' 6½
Trainer: Freddie Roach
Promoter: Bob Arum (Top Rank); runs own promotions outfit MP Promotions locally
Fight Record: 47 wins (36 knock outs), 3 losses, 2 draws

 

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