MANNY "PacMan" PACQUIAO

Age: 31 (12-17-78)

Residence: General Santos City, Philippines

Birthplace: Kibawe, Philippines

Record: 50-3-2, 38 KOs

Height: 5'6.5"

Reach: 67"

Trainer: Freddie Roach

MANNY "PacMan" PACQUIAO (50-3-2, 38 KOs)...

World championship fights: 9-1-2, 8 KOs...
Ranked ESPN.com and The Ring #1 "Pound for Pound"...
WBO welterweight world champion...
Former WBC lightweight world champion...
Former WBC super featherweight world champion...
Former IBF jr. featherweight world champion, four successful defenses...
Former WBC flyweight world champion, one successful defense...
Boxing Writers Association of America "2008 Fighter of the Year"...
The Ring "2008 Fighter of the Year"...
Boxing Writers Association of America "2006 Fighter of the Year"...
The Ring "2006 Fighter of the Year"...
Former WBC International super featherweight champion, three successful defenses...
Former WBC International super bantamweight champion, five successful defenses...
Former OPBF (Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation) flyweight champion, one successful defense...

At the age of 31, Manny is a 15-year pro - he made his debut at 16. He has been fighting at the top levels of competition and given some of the most sensational performances in the ring in recent years.

He is not only recognized by most observers as the best fighter at any weight in the ring today - the best "Pound for Pound" - but has also earned comparisons to the sport's all-time greats.

Manny was voted "Fighter of the Year" in 2006 and 2008 by the Boxing Writers Association of America, and his accomplishments in 2009 cannot be matched by any other fighter: two fights - against multi-world champions Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto - both dominant wins, both devastating knockouts.

He is the national hero of his native Philippines - the entire country of over 96 million people comes to a virtual standstill to watch whenever he fights.

Manny has also become boxing's biggest attraction. The initial pay-per-view numbers for the Cotto fight, before all of the figures were officially audited, were 1.25 million buys and $70 million in domestic revenue. It was the biggest pay-per-view boxing event of the year. The attendance at the fight was 16,200, with a live gate of $8,847,550.

His spectacular career has made him a certain future Hall of Famer. But Manny, still in his prime, has already transcended the sport and reached a level that can be claimed by very few - he has become a legend in his own time.

Thomas Hauser wrote on Secondsout.com, Nov. 25, 2009 [excerpts]: During the past year, Pacquiao has also become a standard-bearer for boxing.

Pacquiao fights with the look of a video-game action hero. He's a remarkable blend of speed, power, endurance, determination, and (in recent years) ring smarts.

Over the past year, each Pacquiao victory has been more remarkable than the one before. The snowball keeps getting bigger. At a promotional event in Manchester, England, to promote Pacquiao's May 2, 2009, fight against hometown hero Ricky Hatton, Manny's fans were so exuberant that Pacquiao was moved to comment, "I think Manchester is now Mannychester."

Pacquiao's November 14^th encounter with Cotto shaped up as Manny's toughest test to date. Pacquiao-Cotto wasn't a manufactured event. It was a legitimate super-fight, and the promotion had caught fire.

Time Magazine ran a five-page feature article on Pacquiao in its United States edition and placed him on the cover of its Asian counterpart. The New York Times (which has largely ignored boxing in recent years) ran daily stories on the fight. Google and Twitter reported record numbers for Pacquiao traffic. The fight was completely sold out.

Fight week was The Manny Pacquiao Show.

At the center of it all, Pacquiao seemed to glide effortlessly through the storm of attention. [End Hauser item]

Manny scored a twelfth-round TKO win against WBO welterweight world champion Miguel Cotto on November 14.

After the fight, Dan Rafael of ESPN.com wrote [excerpts]: We are witnessing one of the all-time boxing greats, and the impressive part about it is that Manny Pacquiao doesn't talk about how great he is. He proves it, fight in and fight out.

He did a mountain of proving against Miguel Cotto, taking over midway through the fight...to win a welterweight title via 12^th-round TKO before an electric, sold-out crowd of 16,200 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena....

Thousands of miles away, millions in the Philippines undoubtedly celebrated the victory of their national hero. Thousands more were in ecstasy in the arena as Pacquiao made boxing history we may never see again.

With the punishing TKO victory, Pacquiao won a title in a record seventh division, six months after he knocked out Ricky Hatton in the same ring in the second round to win his sixth title at junior welterweight, and nearly a year after he retired Oscar De La Hoya. For a 16-year-old who turned professional at 106 pounds and won his first championship at 112 pounds, Pacquiao has raced up the scales like nobody else in boxing history.

Flyweight. Junior featherweight. Featherweight. Junior lightweight. Lightweight. Junior welterweight. And now, welterweight. [note: the featherweight and junior welterweight titles referred to are "lineal" titles, not the titles of sanctioning organizations]

For Pacquiao, he's the biggest star in the sport after winning the year's biggest fight.

You can talk about the Pacman in the same breath as greats like Henry Armstrong, Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran. He's that good because he has proved it in the ring.... And nobody fights with the pure joy and humility that Pacquiao does. [End Rafael item]

Fightwriter.com's Graham Houston reported [excerpts]: Now it has been confirmed. Manny Pacquiao is truly a phenomenon. He not only defeated Miguel Cotto in Saturday's...welterweight title fight in Las Vegas, he destroyed him.

Pacquiao had demonstrated his dominance long before referee Kenny Bayless intervened after 55 seconds of the final round.... As the middle rounds arrived, Pacquiao was outclassing him with speed, power and movement.

There were many who thought that the supposedly superior strength of the naturally bigger Cotto might take effect by the later rounds. Instead, it was Pacquiao who looked the bigger, stronger fighter....

The win makes Pacquiao a unique world champion at seven weights, starting in the flyweight division and, while I'm not sure that fighters should be anointed with the appellation of "great" until after their careers are over, I do think that Pacquiao can be compared with the fabulous Henry Armstrong, who held world titles at three weights simultaneously in the 1930s.

As I left the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday night it was with the feeling that I had been privileged to have seen one of the great performances in modern boxing history. [End Houston item]

Manny's night wasn't finished, however, when the fight ended. Afterwards, he went out to join his band for a nightclub gig.

Tim Dahlberg of the Associated Press wrote [excerpts]: Manny Pacquiao had a hat perched jauntily on his head, a bandage wrapped neatly around his right ear. His real work done for the night, he was heading down the Las Vegas Strip to sing a few songs with his band.

Across an ocean, a grateful country celebrated the kind of hero they never dreamed possible. For a few brief hours the devastation of a typhoon was forgotten, and even the Filipino army took a break from chasing rebels to cheer Pacquiao on.

They used to have him as their own. Not many people outside the Philippines paid much attention to the little fighter with the big hands even as he kept moving up in weight over the years and winning gaudy green belts by the handful along the way.

But now they're going to have to share Manny Pacquiao. Greatness comes with a price, and it's hard to argue that Pacquiao hasn't now earned a spot among boxing's greats.

No fighter had ever won titles in seven different weight classes.... And no fighter in recent times has had the kind of year Pacquiao wrapped up by stopping a game but outclassed Cotto....

He leaped into the public consciousness 11 months ago by making Oscar De La Hoya quit on his stool, giving him such a beating that he retired. He followed that by knocking Ricky Hatton stiff in the second round with a left hand that left Hatton contemplating his mortality.

And then came Saturday night....

Once again, Pacquiao had not just beaten a world class fighter, but systematically dismantled him. He did it in his usual - and very unusual - style, bouncing in and out and throwing punches from all angles in a frenetic style never before seen in boxing.

He warmed up by crooning a few verses of "Sometimes When We Touch" at the postfight press conference, then headed out the door for the stage at the Mandalay Bay, his entourage just behind.

The singing was so-so, though no one was going to say that to the champ.

On this night he had earned the right to do whatever he wanted. [End Dahlberg item]

Manny's webpage address is mannypacquiao.ph.

Key Fights - 2009 - WON WBO W WORLD TITLE - in his last fight on 11-14-09 in Las Vegas, NV, he TKO'd defending champion Miguel Cotto (34-1): the fight headlined at the MGM Grand - it was the most highly-anticipated boxing event of the year, and drew a capacity crowd of 16,200; the early rounds were close and exciting - Cotto was disciplined and sharp and scored with solid combinations, but Manny scored a knockdown with a right hook in the 3^rd round; Manny scored another knockdown with a left hand that left Cotto dazed in the 4^th- Cotto courageously fought on and rallied in the 5^th round, but Manny staggered him with a left hand in the 6^th, steadily wore him down, and dominated most of the rest of the fight; Cotto boxed and moved in the late rounds, but Manny landed the harder punches, rocked him repeatedly in the 9^th round, and Cotto's mouth and nose were bloodied, his face battered and swollen; Cotto won the 10^th on two scorecards, but Manny swept the 11^th round, then rocked Cotto again early in the 12^th and the referee stopped the fight at 0:55; after 11 rounds, Manny led by scores of 109-99, 108-99, 108-100; after the fight, Manny said, "In the first three rounds I tried to measure his power. I'm talking to him during the fight because I'm trying to fight toe-to-toe with him. Before the fight his camp was saying he's bigger and stronger. I just wanted to let them know that in the fight we were going to see who's stronger and tougher. I don't want to compare my achievements to any fighter in boxing. I'm just doing my job to give a good fight. My goal is to give happiness to all those who watch us. I always think to myself that I'm an ordinary fighter. I think this was one of the toughest fights in my boxing career. I took a lot of boxing from Cotto. But after this I have a concert at Mandalay Bay - eight songs with my band from the Philippines."...

On 5-2-09 in Las Vegas he knocked out former IBF jr. welterweight and WBA welterweight world champion Ricky Hatton (45-1): the fight headlined at the MGM Grand and drew a capacity crowd of 16,262, and Manny quickly overwhelmed Hatton; he scored two knockdowns in the 1^st round - the first with a right hook, the second with a left hand; he scored another knockdown with a left hand that dropped Hatton flat on his back, out cold, late in the 2^nd round and the referee stopped the fight at 2:59; after the fight, Manny said, "I'm surprised this fight was so easy, but I did work hard since the beginning of March in training camp. Nothing personal. I am just doing my job, but this is as big a victory for me as when I beat Oscar De La Hoya. He was wide open for the right hook. I knew he would be looking for my left. That's why we worked on the right."...

2008 -on 12-6-08 in Las Vegas he TKO'd former WBO jr. lightweight, WBO and IBF lightweight, WBC super lightweight, welterweight, and two-time super welterweight, and WBO middleweight world champion Oscar De La Hoya (39-5): the fight headlined at the MGM Grand; De La Hoya was a 2-1 favorite to win, but Manny dominated the fight; De La Hoya won the 1^st round on one judge's scorecard, but none after that; Manny kept him off-balance with movement, consistently outworked him, and rocked him with hard left hands in every round; Manny rocked De La Hoya repeatedly in the 7^th round - which two judges scored 10-8 for him - and De La Hoya's left eye was swollen shut; De La Hoya did not continue after the 8^th round; after eight rounds, Manny led by near-shutout scores of 80-71, 80-71, 79-72; after the fight, Manny said, "I was able to defend against his jab and he wasn't able to connect, and I was able to connect with everything. Speed was the answer to this fight. The only thing I was surprised by was that my trainer picked the round we would win in."...

WON WBC L WORLD TITLE - on 6-28-08 in Las Vegas he TKO'd lefthanded defending champion David Diaz (34-1-1): the fight headlined at Mandalay Bay; Diaz, a 1996 U.S. Olympian, gave a tremendous effort, but Manny dominated the entire fight and gave him a severe beating; he rocked Diaz repeatedly and cut him badly over his right eye in the 4^th round; Manny scored a knockdown with a left hand that dropped Diaz face-first to the canvas, and the referee stopped the fight without a count at 2:24; after eight rounds, Manny led by scores of 80-71, 80-71, 80-72; after the fight, Manny said, "I feel much stronger and more powerful at 135. This is where I plan to stay. Diaz caught a lot of punches. I'm surprised he didn't go down earlier. It's hard to fight a southpaw, but I jabbed, jabbed to set him up for the knockout."...

WON WBC SF WORLD TITLE - on 3-15-08 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a 12 round split decision in the rematch against defending champion Juan Manuel Marquez (48-3-1): it was a fast-paced, exciting fight and the momentum shifted back and forth; Manny swept the 1^st round on all three scorecards, but Marquez came back, staggered him with a right hand-left hook combination in the 2^nd, and swept the round; Manny scored a knockdown with left hand that dropped Marquez flat on his back late in the 3^rd round, rocked Marquez again later in the round and won the round 10-8 on all three scorecards, then swept the 4^th round on all three scorecards, as well; Marquez rallied and swept the 5^th, 7^th, and 8^th rounds, but was nicked over his right eye in the 5^th, and cut badly over the same eye by a clash of heads in the 7^th; Manny was also cut badly over his right eye; Manny staggered Marquez with a left hand early in the 10^th round, then rocked him against with series of punches moments later and swept the round, but Marquez finished the fight very strongly - he swept the 11^th round and won the 12^th on two scorecards; scored 115-112, 114-113 Pacquiao, 115-112 Marquez...

2007 - 5^TH WBC INTERNATIONAL SF TITLE DEFENSE - on 10-6-07 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a 12 round unanimous decision in the rematch against 33 year-old former three-time WBO jr. featherweight, IBF jr. lightweight and WBC super featherweight world champion Marco Antonio Barrera (63-5): the bout headlined at Mandalay Bay and drew a crowd of 10,112, and Manny dominated the fight; Barrera had his moments - he rocked Manny with a right hand in the 3^rd round and scored with a hard left hook and left uupercut in the 5^th, but Manny pressed forward and consistently outworked him; Manny staggered Barrera and cut him under his right eye in the 11^th round, and Barrera was penalized one point for punching on a break later in the round after he staggered Manny with a right hand; scored 118-109, 118-109, 115-112; after the fight, Manny said, ""It was a good fight, and it was different from the first fight. He's a good, smart boxer. I'm satisfied with the result. I knew he would have to box me this time around. I thought the people were happy with that fight. I'm trying to make people happy, to give a good fight. I hope that people liked this fight tonight. We did our best. I was careful in this fight. He's still a good fighter. I was just lucky in the first fight that it happened like that."...

4^TH WBC INTERNATIONAL SF TITLE DEFENSE - on 4-14-07 in San Antonio, TX, he knocked out Jorge Solis (32-0-2): the fight headlined at the Alamodome and drew a crowd of 14,793; the early rounds were tactical and close, and both were effective at times; Manny was cut over his left eye by a clash of heads in the 6^th round, but rocked Solis later in the round; Manny stepped up his pace in the 7^th round, then scored two knockdowns in the 8^th - both with left hands - and he was counted out at 1:16; after the fight, Manny said, "In the early rounds I took it easy, but when I got a cut I was throwing more combinations and pretty soon I knocked him out."...

2006 - 3^RD WBC INTERNATIONAL SF TITLE DEFENSE - on 11-18-06 in Las Vegas, NV, he knocked out former WBC super bantamweight, two-time featherweight, and super featherweight world champion Erik Morales (48-4): the fight headlined at the Thomas & Mack Center and drew an announced crowd of 18,276; Morales gave a tremendous effort, but Manny gave a sensational performance, dominated the fight, and quickly overpowered him; Manny rocked Morales with a right hook in the 1^st round and scored a knockdown with a straight left hand in the 2^nd; Manny staggered Morales, then scored a knockdown with a series of punches in the 3^rd round - Morales came back with a furious attack and rocked Manny, but Manny scored another knockdown and Morales was counted out at 2:57;

2^ND WBC INTERNATIONAL SF TITLE DEFENSE - on 7-2-06 in Manila, PHIL, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against former WBC super bantamweight world champion Oscar Larios (56-4-1): the fight headlined at the historic Araneta Coliseum, the site of the "Thrilla in Manila" in 1975; Larios had some early success and staggered Manny in the 3^rd round, but Manny came back and cut Larios over the left eye later in the round; several rounds were close, but Manny had the edge in most and and gave Larios a severe beating; Manny scored one knockdown in the 7^th round and another in the 12^th, and won by scores of 120-106, 118-108, 117-111; after the fight, Manny said, "Their plan was for me to finish the match early, but my plan was that I would not rush, as long as I'm ahead on points. Sometimes if you rush, you may have a problem, because he can squeeze in a punch."...

1^ST WBC INTERNATIONAL SF TITLE DEFENSE - on 1-21-06 in Las Vegas he TKO'd defending champion Erik Morales (48-3): the rematch headlined at the Thomas & Mack Center, and drew announced crowd of 14,618; it was an exciting fight, and both gave tremendous efforts; the early rounds were close, but Morales rallied and swept rounds three through five on all three scorecards and after five rounds, led by scores of 49-46, 48-47, 48-47; but Manny came on strongly in the 6^th - he consistently landed the harder punches and swept rounds six through nine on all three scorecards; Manny scored two knockdowns in the 10^th - the first with a straight left hand, the second after a series of punches - and the referee stopped the fight without a count at 2:33; after nine rounds, Manny led by scores of 86-85, 87-84, 87-84; after the fight, Manny said, "The first fight was tough for me to go to the body because I had the bloody eye. The big difference is that I could see, I could see his punches coming. I saw I hurt him every time I hit him in the body. I wasn't expecting to knock him out. I was lucky that I was to get to his body and his head."..; Dan Rafael of ESPN.com reported, "Pacquiao...put on a spectacular performance in a sensational action fight."...

2005 - WON VACANT WBC INTERNATIONAL SF TITLE - on 9-10-05 in Los Angeles, CA, he TKO'd Hector Velazquez (42-10-2): Velazquez started fast and gave a good effort, but Manny outworked Velazquez, landed the harder punches, and dominated most of the fight; Manny staggered Velazquez with a right hook in the 6^th round, then scored a knockdown moments later; Velazquez got up at the count of eight, but the referee stopped the fight at 2:59; after five rounds, Manny led by scores of 49-46, 49-46, 48-47; after the fight, Manny said, "This is exactly what we trained for. It was the body shots that set him up for the K.O."...

On 3-19-05 in Las Vegas, NV, lost a 12 round unanimous decision against former WBC super bantamweight, featherweight, and super featherweight world champion Erik Morales (47-2): it was one of the most highly-anticipated fights of the year, and it was boxing at its best; the event drew a capacity crowd of 14,623 to the MGM Grand, and it was a ferocious battle that repeatedly brought the fans to their feet; it was a very close fight, and the momentum shifted back and forth - Manny started fast and won the first and third rounds on all three scorecards, but Morales weathered the early storm and rallied in the middle and late rounds; Morales won the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds on two scorecards, then the eighth, tenth, and eleventh on all three; Manny was cut over the right eye in the 5^th round - ruled by a punch - but he won the seventh round on two scorecards, and swept the ninth and twelfth; both stood toe-to-toe in the final round and punched nonstop until the bell; all three judges scored the fight 115-113; after the fight, Manny said, "I couldn't see out of one eye, and it was very hard. If I am not cut on one eye, I think I can knock him out. But I did my best and gave everyone a good fight."...

2004 - on 12-11-04 in Taguig City, PHIL, he TKO'd Fahsan Thawatchai (44-7-1): the event drew an estimated crowd of 25,000 at The Fort, and Manny gave a devastating performance; he scored one knockdown in the 2^nd round, another in the 3^rd, and two more in the 4^th - Fahsan was out cold, and the referee stopped the fight without a count at 1:26...

IBF, WBA F WORLD TITLE CHALLENGE - on 5-8-04 in Las Vegas, NV, he fought to a 12 round draw against defending champion Juan Manuel Marquez (42-2): Manny scored three knockdowns in the 1^st round, and Marquez' nose was injured badly and bled throughout the fight; but Marquez showed tremendous heart and determination, gradually recovered, and boxed effectively for much of the fight; Marquez swept rounds three through six on two judges' scorecards - he rocked Manny and cut him over the right eye in the 5^th, and staggered him in the 6^th; the second half of the fight was exciting, and the momentum went back and forth - Manny landed the harder punches, but Marquez kept a busier pace and won four of the last six rounds on one scorecard, and five on another; the final scores were 115-110 Marquez, 115-110 Pacquiao, 113-113; after the fight, Manny said, "I'm disappointed. I thought I won, I didn't think it was close. I thought I took his fight away from him."...

2003 - in his last fight on 11-15-03 in San Antonio, TX, he TKO'd former three-time WBO jr. featherweight world champion Marco Antonio Barrera (57-3): the fight was at 126 pounds, and Barrera, considered by many observers to be the world's best featherweight, was a 4-1 favorite to win; but Manny gave a sensational performance; he was knocked down in the 1^st round - replays showed that he was tripped when the punch was thrown - but dominated the rest of the fight; Manny scored a knockdown in the 3^rd round, then rocked Barrera with several punches later in the round; he relentlessly pressured Barrera, landed the harder punches and wore him down; Barrera's left eye was swollen in the 4^th round, and he was cut over the same eye by a clash of heads in the 7^th; Barrera was also penalized one point for punching on the break in the 9^th round; Manny scored another knockdown in the 11^th round - Barrera got up, but Manny rocked him with a series of punches and Barrera's corner stopped the fight at 2:56; after 10 rounds, Manny led by scores of 97-88, 97-90, 97-90; after the fight, Manny said, "I really focused through this fight. "Very early, I knew I was going to knock him out. When I knocked him down in the third, I thought it was over. But he came back. I'm surprised he lasted that long."...

4^TH IBF JF WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 7-26-03 in Los Angeles, CA, he knocked out previously undefeated Emmanuel Lucero (21-0-1): it was a spectacular one-punch knockout; Lucero was an awkward opponent - he pressed forward, dipped almost to the canvas at times and lunged at Manny with wide punches; Manny landed a single left hand in the 3^rd round that sent Lucero staggering across the ring, out on his feet, and the referee stopped the fight at 0:48 as Lucero slumped to the canvas; after the fight, Manny said, "He was way too low. He looked like an amateur fighter."...

On 3-15-03 in Manila, PH, he TKO'd Serik Eshmagametov (13-18-1): the fight drew an announced attendance of 50,000 to Manila's historic Luneta Park; Manny scored a knockdown in the 1^st round, but Eshmagametov rallied and scored a knockdown in the 4^th; Manny came back strongly, scored two knockdowns in the 5^th round, and the referee stopped the fight at 1:52...

2002 - 3^RD IBF JF WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 10-26-02 in Davao, PH, he TKO'd Fahproakob Sithkwenim (36-2): the fight was held at Rizal Memorial College gymnasium, and drew a crowd of about 3,000; Manny scored four knockdowns in the 1^st round, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:36; after the fight, Manny said, "I really prepared for the fight. I was really surprised why he got down when I hit him with a right cross. I studied his punch and he always brought down his left hand."...

2^ND IBF JF WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 6-8-02 in Memphis, TN, he knocked out Jorge Julio (44-3): the fight was the co-featured bout under the Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson main event; Manny scored two knockdowns early in the 2^nd round and bloodied Julio's nose; Julio got up both times, but Manny rocked him again and the referee stopped the fight at 1:09; after the fight, Manny said, "I hope that now people will start to respect me a little more. The plan was to come out and let him feel my power early. I knew after the first knockdown that it was a matter of time.I didn't think it would be that easy."...

2001 - 1^ST IBF JF WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 10-11-01 in San Francisco, CA, he had a technical draw against WBO world champion Agapito Sanchez (33-7-1): it was a very dirty fight with continuous mauling and repeated fouls; Manny was cut badly over the right eye in the 2^nd round by a clash of heads, and later on the left ear; Sanchez was penalized one point in the 3^rd round for pushing the laces of his gloves against Manny's cut, and another point in the 4^th for low blows; Sanchez was also cut over his left eye in the 5^th; the referee stopped the fight on Manny's cut at 1:20 of the 6^th round and went to the scorecards - 58-54 Pacquiao, 57-55 Sanchez, 56-56; after the fight, trainer Freddie Roach said, "Tremendous miscarriage of boxing justice. Sanchez repeatedly made intentional fouls."...

WON IBF JF WORLD TITLE - on 6-23-01 in Las Vegas, NV, he TKO'd defending champion Lehlohonolo Ledwaba (33-1-1): Manny took the fight on two weeks' notice and gave an sensational performance - he bloodied Ledwaba's nose in the 1^st round, knocked him down in the 2^nd, then rocked him several times in the 3^rd and 4^th; Manny scored two more knockdowns in the 6^th, and the referee stopped the fight without a count at 0:59; after the fight, Manny said, "This is a dream come true. My dream was to be champion again. He did not hurt me at all. He did not even hit me hard. I was in control the entire fight."...

4^TH WBC INTERNATIONAL JF DEFENSE - on 4-28-01 in Kidapawan City, PH, he TKO'd Kumanpetch Kiatvoraphong (38-2): it was a wild fight in front of nearly 20,000 fans; Manny was floored by low blows two times in the 4^th round, and one time in the 5^th, and Kumanpetch was penalized one point; but Manny came back strong in the 6^th - he staggered Kumanpetch with a right hand, then rocked him with a series of punches, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:46...

3^RD WBC INTERNATIONAL JF DEFENSE -on 2-24-01 in Antipolo, PH, he TKO'd Cholho Kang (19-4-3): Kang, a North Korean based in Japan, is also known as Tetsutora Senrima; Manny stopped him at 1:06 of the 5^th round...

2000 - 2^ND WBC INTERNATIONAL JF DEFENSE -on 10-14-00 in Manila, PH, he TKO'd previously undefeated British Commonwealth champion Nadel Hussein (19-0): Hussein, born in Lebanon and based in Australia, fought very aggressively; Hussein scored a knockdown in the 4^th round, but was also penalized one point; Manny came back in the 5^th round and cut Hussein over and under the left eye, and the fight was eventually stopped on the cuts at 1:48 of the 10^th; after nine rounds, Manny led by scores of 87-80, 87-83, 87-85; Hussein and his trainer, former three-time world champion Jeff Fenech, protested bitterly that Manny received a long count after his knockdown and that Hussein's cuts had been ruled from a clash of heads; the crowd threw bottles and coins into the ring and Fenech challenged a heckler to a fight;; after the fight, Manny said, "His punches are really strong. This is my toughest fight so far."...

1^ST WBC INTERNATIONAL JF DEFENSE - on 6-28-00 in Quezon City, PH, he TKO'd previously undefeated Sungkwon Chae (23-0): at 1:42 of the 1^st round...

1999 - WON WBC INTERNATIONAL JF TITLE - on 12-18-99 in Manila he TKO'd former Philippines champion and world title challenger Reynante Jamili (41-5): the fight was the main event at the Fiesta Fistiana, the Philippine Sportswriters Association's annual fund-raiser for retired and disabled boxers; Manny scored three knockdowns, and stopped Jamili in the 2^nd round; after the fight, Manny said, "I feel great. I have great trainers who told me to relax and take it slow."...

LOST WBC FL WORLD TITLE - on 9-17-99 in Thammarat, TH, he was knocked out against Medgoen Lukchaopormasak (19-0): Manny lost the title at the weigh-in when he did not make weight, and Medgoen won the vacant title; Medgoen knocked down Manny with a body punch in the 3^rd round, and he was counted out at 1:32...

1^ST WBC FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 4-23-99 in Manila he knocked out Gabriel Mira (19-7-1): 15,000 fans were in attendance at the historic Araneta Coliseum, the site of the "Thrilla in Manila" in 1975; Mira started fast and rocked Manny two times in the 2^nd round, but Manny rallied to knock down Mira later in the round; Manny scored another knockdown in the 3^rd, and three more in the 4^th, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:45...

1998 - WON WBC FL WORLD TITLE - on 12-4-98 in Phuttamonthon, TH, he knocked out defending champion Chatchai Sasakul (33-1): it was a spectacular one-punch knockout; Sasakul dominated the early rounds with his speed, skill, and sharp combination punching, but Manny rocked him in the 4^th round; Sasakul recovered quickly and continued to box effectively, but Manny knocked down Sasakul with a single left hand in the 8^th round, and he was counted out at 2:54; after seven rounds, Sasakul led by scores of 70-64, 69-64, 68-65...

WON OPBF FL TITLE - on 6-27-97 in Manila he knocked out Chokchai Chokwiwat: in the 5^th round...

He debuted at the age of 16 on 1-22-95...

AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Manny was born in General Santos City, Philippines, and grew up in a family with six children...their parents were vegetable farmers, and are now estranged...Manny built a house for his mother close to his own...

When Manny was 14, he moved to Manila and lived, for a time, on the streets...he started boxing and made the Philippines' national amateur team - his room and board were paid for by the federal government, and he reportedly had 64 amateur fights (60-4)...he said, "When I was younger, I watched so many videos of Larry Holmes, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and others. I used to rent the videos."...

He turned pro at 16 and won the Oriental-Pacific flyweight title when he was 18; he invited his brother Bobby to come to Manila and took him to the boxing gym...brother Rogel was also a talented boxer, but suffered a head injury in a motorcycle accident and no longer boxes...

Manny has become a movie star in the Philippines, as well - he has starred in several popular Filipino action movies, some with his friend, Mikey Arroyo, the son of the Philippines President...Manny is also a successful recording artist...

From Time Magazine, Asia edition, Nov. 16, 2009, by Howard Chua-Eoan and Ishaan Tharoor [excerpts]: Pacquiao has a myth of origin equal to that of any Greek or Roman hero. Aban-doned by his father and brought up by a tough-as-nails mother, the poor boy who loves to box is rejected by a local squad but then journeys many islands away, to the country's metropolis, Manila, to make it big. Then he leaves the Philippines to make it even bigger, conquering the world again and again to bring back riches to share with his family and friends. Now, in his hometown of General Santos City on the island of Mindanao, he and his family own commercial buildings, a convenience store, caf�s and a souvenir shop that sells everything from DVDs of his fights to T-shirts to bobblehead dolls. In Manila, his children attend one of the most exclusive and expensive private schools. He is generous to a fault, spending thousands of dollars a day feeding and entertaining guests. For his last fight, he distributed $800,000 in tickets to friends.

A movie has been made of his life. But Pacquiao says the full details of that life couldn't possibly fit into just one film. There are things to clear up. For one, he did not leave ramshackle General Santos City, a camp of tin and thatch, to pursue boxing, even though he did love the sport. He left home at 14 because his mother Dionisia, who did odd jobs and factory work and hawked vegetables by roadsides, wasn't really making enough to feed her six children. He had to go off and earn money elsewhere, doing anything to relieve the burden on his mother - even if she wanted him by her side. As it was, he was often absent from school because the family needed him to help sell snacks and trinkets on the potholed lanes where nearly naked children with matted hair still chase rusting bicycle wheels for fun. Pacquiao liked school, correcting and grading his classmates' homework. He "never cheated during a quiz - he wouldn't try to look sideways, this way or that," says one of his schoolteachers from the Saavedra Saway Elementary School. A decent education, however, requires several years and a lot of money. The Pacquiaos had trouble accumulating even a little.

And so young Manny plotted his trip in secret. Dionisia Pacquiao is slender and slight, like her son, and has his easy smile. "Manny has a strong mind and a strong body," she says. "Just like his mother. Except I am stronger." But she was heartbroken when he left for Manila. Dionisia recalls receiving a letter from him "saying how sorry he was [for leaving home] ... I was very, very sad. But after a while, I accepted his destiny."

Pacquiao was not one to pick quarrels. But he did not shy away when friends got into free-for-alls: what he calls, with an almost pop-eyed relish, bukbukan - unrestrained fistfighting. He loved boxing. Dionisia recalls an 8-year-old Manny wrapping towels around his hands to mimic gloves. Rey Golingan, a General Santos City businessman, remembers the young Pacquiao attending the weekly bouts in the main plaza. "Manny was always there at the fights, waiting to be paired with someone," says Golingan. But his consistency wasn't matched by any obvious talent. "Honestly, I didn't see any potential in Manny. He was just another kid who knew if he won a few fights he might get 100 pesos [less than $3]," says Golingan. "He was always very courageous and had natural speed and power. But he wasn't a clever boxer ... He was [always] flailing around."

When he got to Manila, Pacquiao first worked as a laborer. His enthusiasm for boxing, however, had him returning to the ring, fighting in run-for-cover, barely legal matches pulled together in one of Manila's cramped suburbs. He lingers over the names of boxers he knew who died after such fights, then moves on. The death of a friend reportedly spurred Pacquiao to turn professional. [End Time Magazine item]

Manny and his wife Jinky have four children, two boys and two girls...

STRENGTHS: A natural lefthander with exceptional speed and punching power in both hands...has good skills and movement...has shown great overall improvement in recent years...physically strong, tough and determined...is always in top condition...is experienced against top opposition...