Manny Pacquiao- 47-3-2 (35KOs)
Manny Pacquiao is a Filipino professional boxer with a record of 47 wins from 52 fights. He is currently rated by the Ring Magazine as the #1 P4P fighter in the world today. Born on December 1978 in Bukidnon, Philipines, Pacquaio in currently the WBC Lightweight world champion. He stands at 5'7 with 67" reach. Pacquiao has officially won title's in four divisions (Flyweight, Super-Bantamweight, Super-Featherweight & Lightweight) but has also gained recognition as the #1 ranked fighter at Featherweight.
Pacquiao started his career at Flyweight in January 1995, at the age of just 16. His first 3 fights went to decision, winning two over 4 rounds and another over 6 rounds. Pacquiao lost his 12th pro fight against Rustico Torrecampo, he lost via 3rd round TKO. Pacquiao settled in at Flyweight (112lbs) and won the WBC Flyweight world title by stopping Chatcahi Sasakul in the 8th round. After a soft defences, Pacquiao faced up against Medgeon Singsurat. Technically, Pacquaio lost the title before the bout as he failed to make the 112lbs limit, but he lost the bout by 3rd round KO anyway.
After his defeat, Pacquiao moved up 10lbs to the Super-Bantamweight division. He starter well, winning his first 6 bouts by TKO victory before getting his shot at the IBF Super-Bantamweight title. He beat Lehlohonolo Ledwaba by TKO in the 6th round to become a two-weight world champion. An attempt to unify the title's against WBO champion Agapito Sanchez ending in a technical decision draw. The fight was stopped due to a cut on Pac's right eye caused by an accidental headbutt. Pacquiao defended his title 3 more times at 122lbs, all by stoppage, and also fought one fight at the division above in this time.
Pacquiao's first major fight came in November 2003, against Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera. In only Manny's second trip to the Featherweight (126lbs) division, Pacquiao dominated Barrera despite being knocked down early in the fight. Barrera's corner through the towel in the 11th round, after Pacquiao had given Barrera a thorough beatdown. The scorecards at the time were 97-90, 97-90 & 97-89. Pacquiao then went onto fight WBA & IBF Featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, in Las Vegas. In an action-packed bout, Pacquiao knocked Marquez down three times in the very first round. Despite this, Marquez staged a comeback in the middle/later rounds and made it a close fight. The scores were 115-110, 110-115 & 113-113. The fight was declared a draw.
After a 4th round TKO win over Fashan 3K Battery, Pacquiao took on another Mexican legend in Erik Morales at Super-Featherweight (130lbs). This was a superb fight, with back and forth action throughout. Morales used his superior boxing skills from range to dictate the fight, he boxed and brawled intelligently and Pacquiao came up just short. All three judges scored the bout 115-113 in favour of Morales, Pacquiao suffered his third career defeat. After a win over Hector Velazquez (TKO6), Pacquiao fought a rematch with Erik Morales. In another great fight, Morales once again fought well in the early stages just as he had in the first fight. Pacquiao's power eventually caught up with Morales, and the fight ended in a 10th round TKO win for Pacquiao. After a win over Oscar Larios (UD12), Pacquiao then went onto fight the rubber match against Morales. In this fight Pacquiao seemingly peaked, whereas Morales showed his age. Pacquiao landed bombs from the start, and Morales's machismo forced him to fight Pac's fight. In an quick, decisive win Pacquiao destroyed Morales inside 3 rounds with a devastating KO victory.
Pacquiao returned to the ring in April, with a tune-up fight against Jorge Solis. Solis was expected to be an easy win, but Solis showed alot of heart and courage and made the fight competitive. Pacquiao didn't look at his best, but still managed to win the fight in convincing fashion by KO in the 8th round. In October 2007, four years after their first meeting, Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera once again squared off. Pacquiao was a heavy favourite, and rightly so. Barrera fought a very cautious fight, and seemed happy to just last the distance rather than win the fight, or even make it close. Pacquiao won the fight by clear UD, which was disappointing to some as they expected another big KO win. The final scorecards were 118-109, 118-109, 115-112.
Pacquiao's next fight was the long awaited rematch with Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez, on the 15th March live on HBO PPV for the WBC Super-Featherweight title. In a contender for FOTY, Marquez started the stronger catching Pacquiao with hard counter punches as he came in, badly hurting Pacman in the 2nd. Pacquiao roared back by knocking Marquez down in the 3rd round, then the fight continued to twist and turn throughout with both guys hurting each other. In a controverial end, Pacquiao won by split-decision with the judges scoring it 114-113, 115-112 & 112-115. There were many calls for a third fight between the two, but Pacquiao opted to move up in weight once more to fight for the WBC Lightweight title and become a four-weight world champion. Pacquiao dominated David Diaz from start to finish, eventually getting the TKO in the 9th round.
Pacquiao is scheduled to defend his WBC belt at 135lbs on November 15th in Las Vegas, however there are talks of him moving up further in weight class to fight either Ricky Hatton at 140lbs or even Oscar De La Hoya at a weight somewhere between 147-154lbs.
Updated by LeedsLad (07/20/08)