The From-Rags-to-Riches Story of Manny Pacquiao: All-time Greatest Asian Professional Boxer
by "Anyone will succeed in whatever field of endeavor in life by acquiring the same virtues and character that boxing world champions do", Pacquiao once remarked.
Born of typical poverty-stricken Filipino family, Manny Pacquiao abandoned his elementary school when his father eloped with another woman, forcing the schoolboy to abandon his studies to help out his mother support the deserted family. He peddled breads and homemade doughnuts most of the days in the streets of General Santos City, Philippines – his hometown, and at times he had to brave the excruciating heat of the Philippine sun in order to sold out his poor merchandise.
When not peddling he would wander around neighboring villages looking for boxing matches during town fiestas for a reward of around $ 3.0 for the winner and $2.0 for the loser. Win or lose, Manny would return home with his reward intact and turned it over to his mother for rice and fish for a good meal together with his siblings.
Manny, however kept on winning his fights that it did not take long for boxing aficionados of this maritime city in Southern Philippines to take notice of his boxing talent. His agility and power that kept on knocking out his opponents enamored many boxing personalities. Invited by one of them that he would be brought to the capital city of Manila to hone his sport, he did not hesitate and eagerly asked permission of his mother. Mother Dionisia, a pious woman coaxed her son that she delivered on December 17,1978 instead for the priesthood, and though a religious boy himself, Manny refused until he sailed one day for Manila without the poor old woman’s consent for she was adamant as most mothers in the world in disallowing their sons from joining the brutal, yet honorable sport of boxing.
Arriving at the big city, the young Manny was entered into a prominent boxing gymnasium and trained with consummate dedication. He kept on winning his early professional fights, but just like any other beginner and unknown fighter, his prize was no more than with what a drudger receives that he could hardly send extra amount back home. To augment his income, he employed himself in the gymnasium where he trained. He did the gardening and cleaning and occasionally a construction laborer while pursuing his early boxing career.
Despite his sidelines, the young Pacquiao trained like there was no tomorrow; comparing to the work ethic of his fellow prizefighters, each day he would train earliest and stop when all were gone resting. No wonder and as expected, he raked eleven straight wins before collecting his first professional loss to Rustico Torrecampo on February 9, 1996, barely a year after he joined the professional ranks. Torrecampo was the only fellow Filipino to have defeated the future great champion. Pacquiao was forced though, to wear a pair of heavier gloves in that fight for not making the weight limit of the flyweight division that he must have grown. Still heavyhearted, he had invited thoughts of giving up boxing, but as destiny would have it, he chose to continue, leaving behind the haunting memory of his first knockout defeat, and with much ease he was able to resume his usual winning ways by knocking out adversaries from Japan, Thailand and South Korea.
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Post Commentdesmonrock21
On August 3, 2008 at 4:39 am
“Pacman” the pride of the FIlipinos, yeah. great work kabayan. astig!
nobert soloria bermosa
On August 3, 2008 at 6:28 am
i hope this will inspire people,nice article bro,
The Quail
On August 3, 2008 at 8:07 am
Great Article and it will inspire others too.
Juancav
On August 3, 2008 at 10:27 am
This man showed people philippines courage,TO all the world.
Thank you.
ramtsam
On August 3, 2008 at 10:33 am
Great article.
R J Evans
On August 3, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Yes, inspirational stuff – nice one!
TheMyth
On August 3, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Yes indeed our pride for Filipinos =]Will he be the first Filipino President Boxer? Gl =]
Ubofre Pili
On August 3, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Thank you everyone; Thank you max for pointing out the error. I’ll be sending a request to Triond to to fix it. Yes, He was born in 1978 not in 1977 and I forgot to also point out that Manny is now attending the university for a college degree in commerce and plans to pursue law when he graduate and his fighting is over.
Unofre Pili
On August 3, 2008 at 6:07 pm
I also missed to quote Pacquiao in my introductory lines. Sorry guys.
ed
On August 3, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Unofre pili,
if your articles would be as great as this and u will always earn my appreciation..
Congratulations.
Well done
dboy en panama
On August 3, 2008 at 7:18 pm
nice article,,keep-up the good writing not only pilipino inspired this article but the whole world hehehehe
Unofre Pili
On August 3, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Thank you all.
Bruce
On August 3, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Very nice article. Manny Pacquaio is a true inspiration to all the filipino people around the world. His legacy will always be remember for a long time.
joey abad
On August 3, 2008 at 7:35 pm
your article is well discussed and researched.awesome writing too.i wont get tired reading autobiographies of great personalities if it is well written and described as you do.
i hope this article of yours will inspire more filipinos to follow the footsteps of pacman.
mabuhay ka, mabuhay si pacquiao,mabuhay ang sambayanan pilipino!
www.newtechbuilder.com
On August 3, 2008 at 7:57 pm
it’s great to hear/read articles such as this recollecting pacman’s beginning and his later exploits. pacman made me feel proud as a filipino with his persona, character and accomplishments.
awesome job for Mr. Fili!
vaf
On August 3, 2008 at 8:07 pm
life is full of blessing if you dont cant the curse, curse is the way of success, like what we read in life of the people champ
Ruby Hawk
On August 3, 2008 at 8:48 pm
That is a wonderfully uplifting story. It goes to show you what determination and hard work can acomplish.
william rodriguez II
On August 3, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Great job,buddy!
abet
On August 3, 2008 at 9:06 pm
It is great that we live in the time of Manny Pacquiao. It is great because time will come, we will be proud to tell our children or grandchildren how great Manny Pacquiao is.
It is indeed a very inspiring article, congratulations!!
Ferdie
On August 3, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Everytime I feel pressure and need some upliftment, I would watch Manny Pacquiao\’s fights especially the First Barrera fight, then the Grand Finale with Erik Morales, the fight with David Diaz and with JMM.
These fights always gives me the inspiration to continue and never let up. For if you work hard enough something positive always comes into fruition.
Watching him train even inspires me a lot!!!
Windfire
On August 3, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Inspirational article indeed!
mhelrockz
On August 3, 2008 at 10:33 pm
I would like to congratulate Unofre Pili,for a JOB WELL DONE. Nice Article for such a nice person
more power and GODBLESS!
Galvin
On August 3, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Very inspiring article. I will share this to my students, friends, and family.
m3rck
On August 3, 2008 at 11:15 pm
Nice article. Very inspirational.
colt45
On August 3, 2008 at 11:24 pm
very inspiring…
Manny has been my inspiration since I knew him as a 16year-old lad…
I believe in the Priniciples that he believe in…and, it is indeed true if you follow it…i have been very successful in my career that i have never even expected…the most important thing is stay down to earth, and believe in God…respect other people and work with your heart…
Ruel
On August 3, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Nice article,, I suggest to our beloved teachers in our country to share this article to all our young students… to inspire them to excell in everything they do and to love our country.. which we badly need right now.. Mabuhay ka Pacquiao,, Mabuhay ang Pilinas!!!!.
jay huang
On August 3, 2008 at 11:52 pm
Manny Pacquiao successs from an obscure poor boy to becoming a millionaire and icon in the world of boxing will enough to awe anyone and amazed how manny be able to fed up his mind for inspirational foods despite physical, immotional stressed and insurmountable odds facing him.
Tony Dups
On August 4, 2008 at 12:00 am
Great article pre!!! Very Inspiring.
undisputed champion of all champions
On August 4, 2008 at 1:35 am
yes yes yes.. we are the undisputed champion of all champions in the world…………….
Jodelax
On August 4, 2008 at 1:37 am
Nice article. Except for some faulty grammars found, I would love to forward this to my friends.
denlovpac
On August 4, 2008 at 4:59 am
Well done Mr. Author. I like writers like you who writes according to the facts gathered and not from his own. This is an article who doesn’t show racism! TRUE AND FAIR!
the beast of the best
On August 4, 2008 at 5:45 am
All I could say is that Pacman was blessed by God with talents, skill, and wisdom. By using it excellently he gained all he have right now. Dedication, perseverance, courage, and extreme self-discipline and prayer are human virtues that brought Pacquiao to the top of the world. Pacquiao is a great boxer and a great person as well.
salvatore
On August 4, 2008 at 6:21 am
Very well written, excellent story, Well done
Joe Boxer
On August 4, 2008 at 6:32 am
I Believe Manny Pacquiao Always Prayer Day and Nigth!
tracy sardelli
On August 4, 2008 at 7:10 am
excellent read, thank you for sharing.
bong logarta
On August 4, 2008 at 8:15 am
i know how it feels to a be poor, coz i was there already. great job Manny, kita ta sa Gensan puhon!
joey
On August 4, 2008 at 9:30 am
My grandfather loves boxing and so do i…when manny has a fight we always watch and talk about the game afterwards as if we never watched it together…after the fight he ask me when will i get a copy of that fight so we can watch it again..he always asked me when will be mannys next fight.but felt sad to know that the next fight will be 3 o 4 months to wait…by the way my grandpa is 94 yrs. old and cant hardly see people (much on tv).. he just listen to the people who are watching together with us..tnx mp for the honor u bring.God bless!
summersent
On August 4, 2008 at 9:38 am
good article.
Limbarok 70
On August 4, 2008 at 9:51 am
Well Done!!! This Article deserves a 10 Star rating. It is indeed very heartwarming to read an article like this. It refreshes my sense of nationalism which scarcely found on our youth and politicians of today. I may suggest that DepEd should and must print a textbook for our Elementary students depicting the life and struggle of PACMAN up to his stardom. We need a story like this in order to light up the ember of our sense of NATIONALISM. We can’t uplift our present status if our youth of today lacks the sense of nationalism. Even if 3/4 of our population will work abroad, still the leaders of the future will continue to handle a miserable state of our politics and economy. Pare, You’ve done a simple yet inspiring job by writing this life story of our only modern hero in our midst, The distinguished PACMAN.
Limbarok 70
On August 4, 2008 at 10:03 am
I will further suggest that Oscar de la Hoya- Pacman fight should happen for three main reasons; One, for Pacmans legacy and fortune,Second, To witness the two (2) boxing superstar that belongs to two different boxing generation collides on this era that rarely happens in boxing history. and Third, To revive and uplift the state of boxing as a dying sports due to the absence of Superstar on higher weight division. Pacman, You deserve a monument at Downtown Las Vegas! Mabuhay Ka!!!
boyax alipao -pinoy in qatar
On August 4, 2008 at 12:15 pm
for the author of this article.please accept my great appreciation the way wrote this very meaningful and superb construction of words and thoughts.you write up is so much inspirational and touching.for d great boxing hero mp as usual am reaching my everlasting appreciations and more power to you for the next journey that is much waited by us-your fellow filipinos .MABUHAY & GOOD LUCK against ODLH.
maimai.nyc
On August 4, 2008 at 12:41 pm
…ako’y isang pinoy sa puso’t diwa… MABUHAY ANG PILIPINAS!
=D> good story. well done. thank you.
Unofre Pili
On August 4, 2008 at 3:45 pm
THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO ONE AND ALL.
romuloparez
On August 4, 2008 at 4:36 pm
pacquiao dedication to hard work, disicipline and excellence is really inspiring. I watch reviewing for my board exam when he fought morales for the second time. His training caught so much media attention that it was always a hot stuff for any sport news at that time. I was really amazed with his work ethics that he became my benchmark for my review studies. I studied hard and when I get tired and sleepy I think of his work ethics and sacrifices, It effectively challenges my inner self. That i pushed myself to the limits and became more addicted, hungrier for excellence.. I not only passed the board but belonged also to the top 10.. Now I am working as an R&D Engineer here in the UK. Thanks Pac.. I will always support ur fights!!
genejordan
On August 6, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Indeed Pacquiao inspires the whole nation. I just hope that he will continue to remain humble and firmly footed in the ground with all the honor, power, fame and money that are coming his way.
Great article, Mabuhay ka!
Gene
http://www.myvirtualwebsite.com
gonoy
On August 7, 2008 at 1:12 am
MP.idol!
dee gold
On August 7, 2008 at 8:41 am
An article about a fellow Filipino is always a good one.God bless!
neelam pandey
On August 7, 2008 at 6:25 pm
very encouraging article, thanks for sharing!!
Rachel Faye
On August 8, 2008 at 3:21 am
Inspirational article indeed!
kraker
On August 8, 2008 at 8:04 pm
some grammer problems tho…
Manny Mercado
On August 12, 2008 at 2:29 am
KUDOS to Pacman!
Let’s hope and pray he surrounds himself with good people. Hate to see another sad ending.
Nice article bro. Very well written. Thanks for sharing! kudos to you, too!
acquarious
On December 15, 2008 at 4:58 pm
I’m just disgusted everytime I read articles fr. the web that some of our fellow filippino got the courage to lounch jokes of insult agains pacman who brings more honor for our country and they themselves, these peaple acted as trator against their own nation.I hate to say that this oftenly happen specially to one of the famous fil. channel of our own.
Fanimatic
On August 23, 2010 at 10:53 pm
I love it that he remained down to earth and just plain awesome. !!!! We love you manny