Manny Pacquiao

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

At the age of 14, Pacquiao moved to Manila and lived for a time on the streets. He started boxing while working as a construction worker and enduring hunger just to send money to his mother, and made the Philippine national amateur boxing team where his room and board were paid for by the government. Pacquiao reportedly had an amateur record of 60 wins and 4 losses. In 1995, the death of a young aspiring boxer and close friend, Eugene Barutag, spurred the young Pacquiao to pursue a professional boxing career. He started his professional boxing career when he was just 16 years old, stood at 4'11'' and weighed 98 pounds. He admitted before American media that he put weights in his pockets to make the 105-pound weight limit. His professional debut was a four-round bout against Edmund "Enting" Ignacio, on January 22, 1995. Weighing just 106 pounds, Pacquiao won via unanimous decision. Pacquiao captured the WBC and lineal flyweight titles (his first major boxing world title) over Chatchai Sasakul by way of knockout in the eighth round. On November 15, 2003, Pacquiao faced Marco Antonio Barrera at the Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, in a fight that many consider to have defined his career. Pacquiao defeated Barrera via technical knockout in the eleventh round, winning The Ring and lineal featherweight championships, making him the first Filipino and Asian to become a three-division world champion. In July 2019, Pacquiao became the oldest welterweight world champion in history at the age of 40, and the first boxer to become a recognized four-time welterweight champion after defeating Keith Thurman to win the WBA (Super) welterweight title. Pacquiao also holds the record of being the only boxer to hold world titles in four different decades, in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s.

Reader's Guide

Manny Pacquiao's significance lies in his unprecedented achievements as a professional boxer. He is the only boxer in history to win twelve world titles in eight different weight divisions, and the only boxer to win major world titles in four of the original eight weight divisions of boxing: flyweight, featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight. He won the lineal championship in four different weight classes: flyweight, featherweight, super featherweight, and light welterweight. In July 2019, he became the oldest welterweight world champion in history at age 40, and the first boxer to become a recognized four-time welterweight champion. He holds the record of being the only boxer to hold world titles in four different decades: the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s. He was named Fighter of the Decade for the 2000s by the BWAA, WBC, WBO, The Sporting News, and HBO. He is a three-time The Ring, ESPN, and BWAA Fighter of the Year (2006, 2008, 2009), and a two-time Best Fighter ESPY Award winner (2009, 2011). In 2016, ESPN ranked him second on their list of top boxers, pound-for-pound, of the past 25 years. In 2024, they ranked him second among the best boxers of the 21st century. In 2025, The Ring also ranked Pacquiao second among the greatest pound-for-pound boxers of the 21st century. Boxing historian Bert Sugar ranked Pacquiao as the greatest southpaw fighter of all time. Spanish media outlet Marca placed Pacquiao 16th on their Greatest Sportsmen of the 21st Century list. In 2021, Pacquiao held the top spot in DAZN's list of the top 10 boxers of the previous 30 years, and as of 2022, he was ranked ninth in The Ring's list of the top 100 boxers of all time. As of April 2025, BoxRec ranks Pacquiao as the greatest Asian professional boxer of all time. In 2025, he was also awarded the WBC's Fighter of the Century honor, becoming—alongside Sugar Ray Robinson—the only boxer to have won the "triple crown" of legacy awards: Fighter of the Year, Fighter of the Decade, and Fighter of the Century. Pacquiao has generated approximately 20.4 million total PPV buys and $1.29 billion in revenue from his 26 PPV bouts. His highly anticipated bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the highest grossing PPV event in history, generating a record-breaking 4.6 million buys. According to Forbes, he was the second highest paid athlete in the world in 2015.

Did You Know?

• Pacquiao is the only boxer in history to win twelve world titles in eight different weight divisions.
• He is the only boxer to hold world titles in four different decades: the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s.
• In July 2019, Pacquiao became the oldest welterweight world champion in history at age 40.
• His fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. generated a record-breaking 4.6 million PPV buys, the highest grossing PPV event in history.
• In 2025, Pacquiao was awarded the WBC's Fighter of the Century honor, becoming—alongside Sugar Ray Robinson—the only boxer to win the 'triple crown' of Fighter of the Year, Fighter of the Decade, and Fighter of the Century.