Before Manny Pacquiao goes inside the ring to face Juan Manuel Marquez for the third time, Pacman is already driving his $240,000 gray Ferrari 458 Italia, a sports car having 570 horsepower V8 engine, which is said to be his gift to himself. The new acquisition is an addition to his Cayenne Turbo, Chevrolet Suburban, Mitsubishi Grandis, Lincoln Navigator, Mercedes-Benz SLK, Ford Expedition, Mitsubishi Pajero V6, Hyundai Santa Fe and Toyota pickup truck.
The pound-per-pound best boxer of the world is set to face Marquez on November 12, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and is guaranteed to pocket $20 million, not to mention share in pay-per-view earnings, live attendance receipts and others. The controversial fights in 2004 and 2008, awaits the world in anticipation to the explosive trilogy match that it almost sold out all the tickets on its first day sale.
The pride of General Santos City, born on December 17, 1978, Manny started his boxing career in the light flyweight division and would usually appear in the now defunct TV show “Blow by Blow” by Vintage Sports on local Philippine channel IBC 13. On 22 January 1995, Pacquiao faced Edmund Ignacio in his professional debut, winning via decision. He lost to Rustico Torrecampo in a third-round KO but continued undefeated in the next 15 fights afterward.
He took the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation Flyweight title after knocking out Chokchai Chokvivat in the fifth round of their match. Manny then won the Lineal and World Boxing Council Flyweight World titles by beating Chatchai Sasakul in an eighth-round KO. He lost the Lineal title to Medgoen Singsurat when he got knocked out on the third round. Pacquiao also lost the WBC title when he exceeded the required weight limit of 112 pounds at the scales.
Gaining further weight and bypassing the super flyweight and bantamweight divisions, Manny won against Reynante Damili, picking up the WBC Super Bantamweight International title in the process. He went on to defend this title a total of five times. And on 23 June 2011, Pacquiao got his second major boxing world title by winning against Lehlohonolo Ledwaba by technical knockout and getting the International Boxing Federation Junior Featherweight World title. He defended this title a total of four times with the help of Wild Card Gym owner Freddie Roach.
Fighting for the first time in the featherweight class on 15 November 2003, Manny fought against Marco Antonio Barrera and was able to defeat him via an eleventh-round technical KO. This made him the first Filipino and Asian to become a world champion in three different divisions. He then challenged Juan Manuel Marquez for the WBA and IBF Featherweight World titles on 8 May 2004. The match, however, ended in a controversial draw.
Moving up to the next weight class, Manny fought against Erik Morales on 19 March 2005 for the WBC International and IBA Super Featherweight titles. He lost in a unanimous decision after 12 matches by the judges. He then faced Hector Velasquez for the WBC Super Featherweight belt on 10 September 2005 which he won. Pacquiao faced Morales again on 21 January 2006 and this time he won the match in the tenth round when he was able to knock out Morales. They fought a third time on 18 November 2006 with the match ending in Manny's favor. Pacquiao further defended these titles against Jorge Solis, Joan Guzman as well as Barrera and Marquez in rematches on June 2007 and March 2008 respectively.
On 28 June 2008, Manny faced David Diaz in the ring for the WBC Lightweight World title. He won the match as well making him the first Filipino and Asian to become a world champion in five different divisions. It was also during this period when, in 7 August 2008, he was given a plaque of recognition by the members of the Philippine Congress and was hence recognized and dubbed as the “People's Champ” for his achievement and in appreciation to the honor he brought to Filipinos and the country.
This was when the “Dream Match” happened. It was in this weight class where Manny fought against Oscar De La Hoya, the six-division world champion boxer on 6 December 2008. The supposed to be 12-round match ended during the eighth round when De La Hoya's corner was forced to throw in the towel since Pacquiao was clearly dominating the match, giving Manny the win by technical KO. De La Hoya eventually announced his retirement from boxing well after the match. This fight garnered the second highest revenue in boxing history.
Fighting in the next weight division for the first time, many were thinking twice if Manny could outmatch Ricky Hatton in their fight dubbed as “The Battle of the East and the West.” However, Pacquiao proved his critics wrongs when he was able to win via KO and claimed the IBO and The Ring Junior Welterweight World titles. This made him the second fighter in boxing history to become a six-division world champion and the first boxer to win Lineal titles in four different classes.
The year 2011 saw Manny's return to the welterweight division with his fight against Shane Mosley last 7th of May. He successfully defended his welterweight title in this match.
Will the November 12 fight against Marquez be the mark of his retirement from boxing career? He already expressed his intent years back but then the fights continued. Pacman, the Mexicutioner, can only tell when.
