Two words…Manny Pacquiao. This 31-year-old boxing sensation is
said to be possibly the best boxer to ever enter the ring, and the people of the Philippines couldn’t agree more.
HE is HUGE (and I mean HUGE) in the Philippines...
He is the only man in the world to ever win a world championship in 8-weight division from 105-148 pounds, and even the insurgents will cease-fire for him.
Manny is known to for two things
1. His ability to hit equally as heard with his right and left and his
2. His constant smile
They say the closest Manny gets to the mat is when he kneels to pray after every fight…wow.
Born in the small town General Santos, Manny’s mother struggled to raise him and his five siblings. They would miss school regularly to help h
er sell cigarettes throughout the streets and secretly snuck off to boxing for 100 pesos (2 dollars) a fight.
2 to 2 million dollars a fight sounds like success to me…
At 16, Manny was ready for the big leagues. One problem, he weighed 98 pounds and the minimum is 105 pounds. So being the clever man that he is, Manny simply put a few heavy objects in his pockets so he would make the weight..
And so the legend begins…
Upon becoming the world flyweight champion, Manny was awarded with a trip to Hollywood where he ended up at the wild card gym.
Trainer Freddy Roach, who has coached 28 world champions, challenged Manny and soon came to realize how talented the young man was.After training with Roach,
Manny was scheduled to fight Oscar de la Hoya, and no one had faith he could win the fight.
After nine rounds De La Hoya quit the match…and boxing all together.
You can find Manny everywhere in the Philippines. He is a boxer, business man, icon, and brand.
Manny even ran for Congressman…and WON! It seems that he is unstoppable in almost every aspect of his life, and with his humble and respectful demeanor it is hard not to love him!
2 comments:
This is really interesting. I didn't realize that he had come from such humble beginnings. That's crazy how popular he is, winning a seat in Congress!
WOW! What a great story! This man is a icon and so many children will be looking up to him! Great Post!:)
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