Pacquiao << PAK kee ow, >> Manny (1978-…), was an outstanding Philippine boxer. Pacquiao became the first boxer to hold world titles in eight different weight classes. At various times in his career, Pacquiao held the titles in the flyweight, super bantamweight, featherweight, super featherweight, lightweight, light welterweight, welterweight, and super welterweight classes. During the early 2000’s, many boxing experts called Pacquiao the finest fighter, pound for pound, in the world.
Pacquiao’s success as a boxer has made him a national hero in the Philippines. He carried the Philippine flag during the opening ceremonies at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. In 2010, Pacquiao was elected to the Philippine House of Representatives from Sarangani, a remote province in the southern part of the country. Pacquiao had previously run for a House seat in 2007 but was defeated. He was reelected to the House in 2013. In 2016, Pacquiao was elected to the Senate, the upper house of the Philippine legislature.
Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao was born on Dec. 17, 1978, on the island of Mindanao. He began boxing professionally at the age of 16 as a light flyweight at 106 pounds (48 kilograms). Pacquiao then moved up in weight class to win the flyweight title, his first world championship. On Dec. 6, 2008, he defeated the famous American boxer Oscar De La Hoya in an eighth-round technical knockout in one of the most publicized bouts in years. In other widely publicized fights, Pacquiao knocked out the British boxer Ricky Hatton in the second round on May 2, 2009; defeated the American boxer Shane Mosley in a unanimous decision on May 7, 2011; lost to the American boxer Timothy Bradley in a split decision on June 9, 2012; and was knocked out in the sixth round by the Mexican boxer Juan Manuel Marquez on Dec. 8, 2012.
Pacquiao won the World Boxing Organization (WBO) international welterweight—up to 147 pounds (67 kilograms)—title with a unanimous decision over the American fighter Brandon Rios on Nov. 23, 2013. In a return bout, Pacquiao defeated Timothy Bradley by a unanimous decision on April 12, 2014. On May 2, 2015, Pacquiao lost to the American boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr., in a unanimous decision. Pacquiao regained his WBO welterweight title by defeating defending champion Jessie Vargas in a unanimous decision on Nov. 5, 2016. On July 2, 2017, Pacquiao lost the title to Australian boxer Jeff Horn in a split decision. On July 14, 2018, Pacquiao won the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title with a 7th round technical knockout over Lucas Matthysse.
The WBA stripped Pacquiao of his title and named him “champion in recess” in January 2021, because he had not fought a recent title fight. In August, Pacquiao lost to Cuban boxer and WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas in an attempt to regain his title. The following month, Pacquiao retired from boxing. In 2022, he ran unsuccessfully for president of the Philippines.
