A LOOK BACK ON PACQUIAO'S 21-YEAR BOXING CAREER
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 18 Jan 2016
The date was January 22, 1995. The place, Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro. It was when and where the now Filipino international boxing icon Manny Pacquiao started his successful ring career.
Only a few, perhaps, would have guessed that the small boy who then stood barely 4'11," would someday become the toast of the boxing world by winning one world championship after another in eight weight divisions.
The only man in the history of sweet science to have done so as well as the first fighter to win, too, the lineal championship in four different weight classes. On the way to greatness, he won no less than 10 world titles.
And to think that, for a start, Pacquiao had to put weights in his pockets to make the light-flyweight limit 108 pounds. He won that four-rounder via a unanimous decision and the next nine more bouts to score a perfect 10 in the first year of his 21-year professional career.
Pacquiao, born December 17 in Kibawe town in Bukidnon province in 1978 lost for the first time in his second flyweight fight via a third round knockout to Rustico Torrecampo in Mandaluyong.
But that initial setback did not deter him from pursuing a career to help his mother Aleng Dionisia rear a family of six -- sisters Liza and Isidra and brothers Bobby and Roel -- and making true his dream of making it big in the in the international arena.
He succeeded in both with the help of wife Jinkee, who has always been by his side and with whom he has five children -- Jimwell, Michael, Princess, Queenie and Israel -- and his team, including promoter Bob Arum and chief trainer Freddie Roach.
Two year after his 1995 debut, Pacquiao, known also as "Pacman", "Pacific Storm," or "Mexicutioner," among others captured his first world title, the World Boxing Council flyweight plum, by knocking out defending champion Chatchai Sasakul of Thailand in the 8th round.
From there, the now Congressman representing he Province of Sarangani, collected seven more belts -- the International Boxing Federation super-bantamweght at the expense of defending titlist Lehlohonolo Ledwaba whom he TKOed in the sixth, Ring featherweight over Marco Antonio Barrera (TKO 11), WBC super-featherweight (Juan Manuel Marquez UD 12), WBC lightweight (David Diaz TKO 9), WBO welterweight (Miguel Cotto TKO 12) and WBC super-welterweight (Antonio Margarito UD 12).
His title conquest of African Ledwaba held June 23, 2001 was the Filipino ring icon's first under American Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach who has been charting Pacquiao's career until now.
Pacquiao's other key fights were against legendary Oscar DeLa Hoya, an American Olympic gold medalist whom he stopped in the 8th round of their brutal, bloody encounter in 2008 that was Pacquiao's initial fight as a 147-campaigner, and Puerto Rican Ricky Hatton, then the WBA welterweight belt-owner who lasted only two rounds.
Of the monikers heaped on him, the senator-to-be (the boxing superstar is running for senator in this May's elections) disapproved of the nickname "The Mexicutioner" although many boxing writers believe the nickname is apt.
Especially because four of the Filipino fighter's victims are future Hall of Famers -- Barrera, Morales, Marquez and DeLa Hoya. He was 6-2-1 against his Mexican rivals. Only Morales and Marquez managed a win each with the latter knocking him out in 2012.
The list of his Mexican victims includes Gabriel Mira, KO in 4 in defense of his WBC fyweight title; Emmanuel Lucero, KO in 3 to keep his IBF junior-featherweight crown; Hector Velasquez (TKO 6); Oscar Larios (UD 120; Jorge Solis (KO 8); and Mragarito (UD 12). Pacquiao fought 65 matches in his 20-year pro-career, winning 57 of them, 38 by KOs, losing six and drawing twice.
He was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 2000s (decade) by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA), World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Organization (WBO). He is also a three-time The Ring and BWAA "Fighter of the Year," winning the award in 2006, 2008, and 2009, and the Best Fighter ESPY Awardee in 2009 and 2011.
He is the longest reigning top-10 boxer on the pound-for-pound list. BoxRec ranks him as the greatest Asian fighter of all-time.
He was long rated as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world by most sporting news and boxing websites, including ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Sporting Life, Yahoo! Sports, About.com, BoxRec and The Ring from his climb to Lightweight until his losses in 2012 to Marquez nd Timothy Bradley.
Besides boxing, Pacquiao is also into professional basketball, business, acting, music recording and politics and even ventures in sportswriting being a card holding member of the Sports Communicators Organization of the Philippines (SCOOP).
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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