Manny Pacquiao

Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao , more commonly known as Manny Pacquiao, is a Filipino professional boxer, and the only septuple world champion in boxing history. At present, Pacquiao fights in the welterweight division.

He is currently the WBO welterweight world champion, IBO and Ring Magazine light welterweight champion, and is rated by Ring Magazine as the pound-for-pound boxer in the world.

He is also the former WBC lightweight world champion, WBC super featherweight world champion, IBF super bantamweight world champion, and WBC flyweight world champion. Furthermore, he is the former Ring Magazine featherweight and super featherweight champion.

The Filipino boxing superstar is the first boxer to win seven world titles in seven different weight divisions. In addition, he is the only boxer to win the lineal championship the man who beat the man in four different weight classes.[5] Aside from being a boxer, Pacquiao has participated in politics, acting, filmmaking, and music recording.
Early career
Pacquiao started his professional boxing career at the age of 16 at 106 lbs (Light Flyweight). His early fights took place in small local venues and were shown on Vintage Sports' Blow by Blow, an evening boxing show. His professional debut was a 4-round bout against Edmund "Enting" Ignacio on January 22, 1995, which Pacquiao won via decision, becoming an instant star of the program. Close friend Mark Penaflorida's death in 1994 spurred the young Pacquiao to pursue a professional boxing career.

His weight increased from 106 to 113 lbs before losing in his 12th bout against Rustico Torrecampo via a third-round knockout (KO). Pacquiao had not made the weight. So he was forced to use heavier gloves than Torrecampo, thereby putting Pacquiao at a disadvantage.

Shortly after the Torrecampo fight, Pacquiao settled at 112 lbs, winning the WBC Flyweight title (his first major boxing world title as well as the flyweight lineal title) over Chatchai Sasakul in the eighth round only to lose it in his second defense against Medgoen Singsurat, also known as Medgoen 3K Battery, via a third-round knockout on a bout held at Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. Technically, Pacquiao lost the belt at the scales as he surpassed the weight limit of 112 lbs (51 kg).

Following his loss to Singsurat, Pacquiao gained weight anew. This time, Pacquiao went to the Super Bantamweight division of 122 lbs (55 kg), where he picked up the WBC International Super Bantamweight title. He defended the title five times before his chance for a world title fight came.

Pacquiao's big break came on June 23, 2001, against IBF Super Bantamweight champion Lehlohonolo Ledwaba. Pacquiao stepped into the fight as a late replacement and won the fight by technical knockout to become the IBF Super Bantamweight champion (his second major boxing world title) on a bout held at MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada. He defended this title five times and fought to a sixth-round draw against Agapito Sánchez in a bout that was stopped early after Pacquiao received two headbutts.

First fight with Barrera

Pacquiao with his trainer Freddie Roach at Pacquiao's Christmas and birthday bash, Los Angeles, CAPacquiao went on to defend his title four times with expert training from Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Gym, improving his hand speed and mental preparation before the match that many consider to have defined his career, a bout against Marco Antonio Barrera. Pacquiao, moving up in weight and in his first fight ever in the Featherweight division, brought his power with him and defeated Barrera via a TKO in the 11th round at the Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas. Although this fight was not recognized as a title fight by any sanctioning bodies, Pacquiao was recognized as world champion by Ring Magazine (as well as the lineal featherweight champion) after his victory,[10] and he held that title until relinquishing it in 2005.

First fight with Márquez
Only six months after Pacquiao's win over Mexican legend Barrera, Pacquiao went on to challenge another highly respected Mexican boxer in Juan Manuel Márquez, who at the time held both the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) Featherweight titles. The fight took place at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, on May 8, 2004, and it ended in a controversial draw that left both sets of fans feeling bitter.

In the first round Márquez was caught cold, as he was knocked down three times by a more lively Pacquiao. However, Márquez showed great heart to recover from the early knockdowns, and went on to win the majority of rounds thereafter. This was largely due to Márquez's counterpunch style, which he managed to effectively utilize against the aggressive style of Pacquiao. At the end of a very close fight, the final scores were 115–110 for Márquez, 115–110 for Pacquiao, and 113–113. One of the judges (who scored the bout 113–113) later admitted to making an error on the scorecards, because he had scored the first round as "10–7" in favor of Pacquiao instead of the standard "10–6" for a three-knockdown round.[citation needed] Consequently, both parties felt they had done enough to win the fight.