Manny Pacquiao was born on December 17, 1978 in Kibawe, Philippines. He enjoyed a successful and prolific amateur career, having 64 fights in total.
After turning pro three years earlier, Pacquiao won his first major belt in 1998, beating Thailand’s Chatchai Sasakul to land the WBC flyweight title.
In 2001 Pacquiao won the IBF super-bantamweight title, before landing The Ring, WBA, and IBF featherweight belts in 2003 and 2004. After losing to Erik Morales in March 2005, the “Pac Man” went over seven years unbeaten, before suffering a shock defeat to Timothy Bradley in June 2012.
The Boxing Writers Association of America, the World Boxing Council and the World Boxing Organisation all named Pacquiao their “Fighter of the Decade” for the 2000’s.
On May 13, 2010, Pacquiao was voted into the Philippine House of Representatives, scoring a landslide victory in elections to become congressman for the district of Sarangani.
The Pac Man was rated pound-for-pound the world’s best fighter before losing top spot to Floyd Mayweather Jnr in April 2012.
The Filipino superstar is the first and only eight-division world boxing champion, winning belts at weights that range from flyweight to light-middleweight.
