His mother wanted him to be a priest, not a boxer: Who is Manny Pacquiao?

Ants and wood bugs ate the child's hand and face and fried them. Still, there were no traces of the long narrow path left behind by tears on the child's face. He had obviously been standing like this on the tree for a long time, but he had never cried. When the fisherman tried to untie the child, his mother appeared with the machete she was holding in her hand. The little guy's punishment was over. While the mother was untying her son, she was literally giving him a life lesson without speaking.

“If you are three hours late home, you wait in this tree for three hours. "If those little insects on the tree are causing you this damage, think about what could happen to you outside." The child accepted his punishment with his actions without speaking. He waited patiently, endured small bites, and never cried.

Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao (born December 17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He previously served as a Senator of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022.

Poor and needy people live in this small place called Tango, 50 kilometers south of the city of General Santos in the Philippines. The woman who tied her son to the tree is the mother of four children who looks poor even among the poor. On days when they cannot even find rice to eat, Mother Dionesia collects stale bread and sells it after heating it so that she can bring something to eat home. Father Rosalio climbs coconut trees, which are more than 25 meters tall, 70 times a day to feed his children.

A member of this family with two brothers and a sister, Manny knew what it meant to be deprived from birth. This situation is what determined his personality. He was neither a naughty nor a good child. He acted appropriately where necessary. He had his first fight when he was 9-10 years old. A boy who mocked his brother for their poverty was the first person to meet Manny's left. Realizing the quality of his left, the little boy moved in with Uncle Sardo to learn the art of punching when he was 12 years old. Sardo Mejia was a man passionate about boxing; He was very happy when his passionate young boxer, to whom he would devote himself, came to him. He created a new home for the future world champion by turning a room of his house into a makeshift gym. In his autobiography, Manny explains that the day he and his Uncle Sardo watched the Buster Douglas-Mike Tyson match in 1990 changed his life:

“In that match, I realized that I could be a boxer. Mike Tyson was the favorite of the match and he lost. “That match showed me that even the non-favourite can win.”

It wasn't that easy for Sardo Meija to turn Manny into a boxer. The little boy, who came from poverty, was not well nourished and his body development was not fully completed.

“When Manny first started boxing, he had no muscle mass. At first, I didn't think he could become a boxer. Afterward, we trained together for six months. At the end of those six months, I told myself that this kid would be a world champion one day. He always had self-discipline; He would get up at four in the morning and go for a run. He was a very quick learner; When I brought Mike Tyson's tapes and showed him to him, he immediately understood the tactics. His mother wanted him to be a priest, not a boxer, but Manny was aware that they did not have money to go to school, so he devoted himself to boxing.”

The story of his father killing and eating Manny's pet dog was told by his trainer Freddie Roach. It was even said that Manny ran away from home and lived on the streets for this reason. This story was denied by Father Rosalio. Even if this incident was fake, this was not the only evil Rosalio did to his family. When Manny was 13, his father left home for another woman. This meant that school was now too luxurious for Manny. He also had to work to help his mother.

While selling bread and water on the streets was Manny's job, he made unexpected progress in boxing, which he did as a hobby. Boxing matches were held outdoors in the city of General Santos, on the coast of the Celebes Sea in the southernmost part of the Philippines. Manny's first fights took place in one of these outdoor parks. After beating a few kids whose local popularity had skyrocketed, he realized that this place wouldn't be enough for him. He traveled 150 km north to the larger city of Davao, where he demonstrated his skills against stronger opponents. Three years later, he was the best boxer in the Philippines in the stars category. His surroundings were no longer enough for him. He should have gone to the capital Manila. The door to the world was there. He found a ship. He had no money for a ticket, so he boarded the ship illegally and headed for Manila.

Talent scout Yolando Parcon sent Manny to Manila-based businessman Polding Correa. Correa was a man who knew how to handle diamonds. He directed Manny to the L&M Lounge. At that time, life in the capital was not easy, even if you had good references. To make a living, Manny cleaned rust from metal in the shipyard and worked as a dishwasher in restaurants. After meeting Ben Delgado, he started working at Delgado's boxing gym in Sampaloc. Sometimes he slept in the hall where he practiced boxing, and sometimes he slept outside. On June 22, 1995, thinking that it was time to earn money, he decided to end his amateur career of 60 wins and four defeats and became a professional at the age of 17.

The first opponent was Edmund Ignacio. At that moment, no one stepped into the ring knowing how they would go down in history. They threw countless punches at each other for four rounds in the light flyweight (48.9 kg) fight. At the end of the match, Manny was the winner with a point. Today, the lightest weight is 47.6 kilos, which is called the minimum weight, Manny almost started from the lightest weight. Over the years, he gained weight and moved up to weight. He was opening a new page with every weight loss. As the weight increased, so did its popularity. He played his first big game on 23 June 2001 against Lehlohonolo Ledwaba. He won the super bantamweight title with a technical knockout against his South African opponent. This match was also Manny's first appearance on the world stage in the USA. He previously played in matches in the Philippines, Thailand and Japan. He won the flyweight title in Thailand. In the Sansurat match, he suffered the second defeat of his career in the Super Bantamweight title match. Manny was a boxer who did not hesitate to go away or lose. Rustico Torrecampo was his first opponent in 1996, in his 12th match. Throughout his life, he was a chaser, not a runner. This feature was the key to gaining respect in the boxing world. He never let go of this golden key over the years. It was this key that opened the doors of many treasures to him.

Stylistically, Manny was fast and strong. It was not difficult to find his nickname, as his name and surname suggest. They now called him Pac-Man for short. In Pac-Man, one of the favorite arcade games of our childhood, there were also monsters that we had to escape from while eating the food we came across. Pac-Man also drew a career story exactly like the game. While he was quickly eating bait such as Ledwaba, Sanchez, Julio, and Yeshmagambetov, the real monsters were after him. When he turned the corner, the first thing he saw was Marco Antonio Barrera. While Marco Antonio Barrera was facing Pac-Man, he was at his peak with wins over Naseem Hamed, Erik Morales, Johnny Tapia, and Kevin Kelly in his last 5 matches.

In the middle was the featherweight Ring Magazine belt. Pacquiao fell in the first round. It wasn't the first time in his life that he fell. The years he was afraid of losing were long gone. He was afraid of running out of rice at home and not being able to make money trying to sell things in the market, but he had nothing to fear in the ring. He stood up; This time it was Barrera who fell to the ground in the third round. He dropped Barrera again in the eleventh round. Barrera can no longer continue. Manny had eliminated the first monster.

Pac-Man lived up to his nickname. Next was Mexico's champion boxer, IBF and WBA featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez. He appeared on the Las Vegas stage for the second time. The first round was like a three-minute show where Pac-Man broke his chains. He took Marquez to the ground three times in three minutes. Neither boxer was aware of what they had started when the first round ended. The matches between these two names would last for years, Pac Man and Marquez would face each other four times in the entertainment industry, where Matrix and Lord of the Rings remained in three films. Going back to the first match, Pac-Man, who had three knockdowns in the first round, could not win the match. By separate decision, the match ended in a draw. Later, Burt Clement, who scored the match as a draw, made a statement that was described as scandalous. “I didn't know I could score the first round 10-6.” Suppose Clement had given the first round to Pac-Man 10-6. The winner would be Pacquiao.

Before Pac-Man could prove himself in the USA yet, he lost to Erik Morales in his second big match. It was his first time at super featherweight and he was facing another Mexican. Morales used his right to choose gloves in favor of Pac-Man and, in the words of his coach Freddy Roach, "pillow" ones. They had to comply with the contract. The unanimous decision of all three referees was in favor of Erik Morales, 115-113. When Morales came to his corner before the last round, his coach suggested, "Don't do anything stupid, you are ahead in points." A few seconds after the final round started, Morales ignored what his corner said and moved to reverse guard. He fought tooth and nail with Pac-Man and showed the audience one of the most competitive and enjoyable last rounds in history. This match was Pac-Man's struggle to touch the bottom of the pool with his feet and rise. He was slowly sinking to the bottom, but he was still breathing. He literally placed his feet on the marble of the pool; He bent his knees and rose.

They met Morales again 10 months later. It was Pac-Man who won by technical knockout in the 10th round. In documentaries, after hitting the bottom, the career rise is shown rapidly until it reaches the top, and now we are in that period of time. When the score was 1-1, the third match was played with Morales. Conclusion; Third-round knockout! The Pac-Man storm had reached the deserts of the USA and, as he put it, "the Philippines was happy now."

Pacquiao wanted the title. The WBC title was held by Juan Manuel Marquez, and in order to fight with him, he first faced Marco Antonio Barrera again. Pac-Man won by unanimous decision. It was time for the rematch with his arch-rival Marquez in the title match. Posters were prepared. “Unfinished Job” was written on the yellow paint. After the first match ended in a draw, both boxers entered the ring to win. In the very close match, the decision was a "Split Decision", just like the first match. But this time there was a winner. Two referees gave it to Pac Man and one gave it to Marquez. In 2007, Manny was the WBC super featherweight champion. His breakthrough among the lightweights and the titles he won opened the door to new opportunities for him. First, another weight class appeared. He won the WBC lightweight title by knocking out David Diaz. Even though this match was a title match, it was actually the first step on the road to gold.

In 2008, Manny's target was the "golden boy" Oscar De La Hoya. 1.25 million people purchased this match on the pay-per-view system, and 70 million dollars were generated from this system. It was the fourth time in history that a non-heavyweight boxing match exceeded the one million mark. Pac-Man earned more than $11 million from this match. When he defeated Oscar De La Hoya in the eighth round, 104 million people in the 7,641 islands and islets that make up the Philippines were overjoyed. In the same year, he was named boxer of the year by ESPN and Sports Illustrated.

Pac-Man was at its peak and took down anyone who stood in its way. He knocked out Englishman Ricky Hatton. Then he moved up to half-middleweight and applied the same recipe to Puerto Rican legend Miguel Cotto. With his victory, Cotto became the WBO half-middleweight world champion. He moved up to super cruiserweight for Antonio Margarito. Pac Man, who started professional boxing at 50 kilos, was fighting at 70 kilos by this match. Many things were changing, but one thing remained the same: Pac-Man continued to win. He continued on his way by beating Margarito by points. He returned to cruiserweight as he defeated Shane Mosley and in his third bout with Marquez.

By November 2011, he had swept the boxing market. He has been in the ring with everyone throughout these years. He fought some of them two or three times. He couldn't share the same ring with just one name. Floyd Mayweather Jr! Different companies, broadcasting rights, promoters, and many other issues prevented this match. This special match, described as the match of the century, could not be arranged.

The WBO half-middleweight title match between Timothy Bradley Jr and Pac-Man in June 2012 was recorded as one of the biggest referee scandals in history. Manny had been undefeated for seven years and 15 matches since 2005.

Opinions at the end of the match were as follows. “A disgraceful result, God only knows how Bradley won” –Jim Lampley (HBO), “This result is a crime.” –Harold Lederman (HBO), “This result is proof that the sport is corrupt.” -Teddy Atlas (ESPN)

Pac-Man lost his title after this undeserved defeat. The new appointment would be with Juan Manuel Marquez for the fourth time; everything is set. The two met again in Las Vegas. The first match ended in a draw, and Pac-Man won the next two matches. The favorite was again Filipino. Ali and Frazier, Gatti and Ward, Morales, and Barrera had met three times, but a fourth date in boxing was not a common occurrence. The Lord of the Rings, Back to the Future, and The Matrix all ended in three films. Apparently, fate had a crazy plan. If a rare event was happening so quickly, its outcome would not be normal. It didn't happen. In the third round, Marquez managed to knock Pac-Man down, but Manny recovered quickly. In the fifth round, this time Pac-Man dropped Marquez. Fists were flying and defense was strictly secondary. Pac-Man attacked again and fell to the ground. Yes, that's exactly how it happened. As Manny was about to throw his hook, he fell face down and lay motionless on the ground. Marquez threw a great punch at short range. The winner was Juan Manuell Marquez by knockout in the sixth round. While the Mexican was making history, Pac-Man was slowly coming into his own. After the match, Marquez turned to his opponent and said, "You are a great boxer."

2012 was a bad year for 34-year-old Manny. Years later, he suffered two defeats in the same year. To come back, he defeated Brandon Rios in Macao and won the WBO cruiserweight title. Afterwards, it was rematch time. He defeated Timothy Bradley by unanimous decision in Las Vegas. After beating Chris Algieri by unanimous decision, the Floyd Mayweather Jr match, which was shown as the match of the century, has arrived. For the fifth time in boxing history, a match was heralded as the match of the century. Battling Nelson v Joe Gans (1906), Jack Johnson v James Jeffries (1910), Jack Dempsey v Georges Carpentier (1921), and Joe Fraizer v Muhammad Ali I (1971) were the other four matches.

After years of discussions about whether this match would happen or not, when it would happen, whether Floyd was running away, and whether Pac-Man had gotten old, television broadcasters and promoters agreed and a date was given for this big match. On May 2, 2015, in Las Vegas, two superstars entered the ring for the WBA, WBC, and WBO half-middleweight titles.

It broke the all-time record with 4.6 million views on the pay-per-view system. The pay-per-view revenue of this match was calculated to be around 437 million dollars. While the revenues were split, Floyd received 60 percent and Pac-Man received 40 percent. On the other hand, the whole world was interested in this match. The whole of Hollywood, from Ben Affleck to Robert De Niro, from Bradley Cooper to Denzel Washington, was in the hall. Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson also took their place in the hall. The result of the match was left to the referees' decision. Floyd Mayweather won with scores of 118-110, 116-112 and 116-112. At the end of the match, Pac-Man's shoulder injury and Floyd's defensive fight were talked about a lot. The truth of the matter was that Floyd remained invincible.

Nearly a year later, Pac-Man entered the ring for the third time with Timothy Bradley and won by unanimous decision. After his win over Jessie Vargas, he lost to teacher Jeff Horn in Australia by points. Although the outcome of the match was open to debate when we looked at Horn's face, it was obvious that Pac-Man was not in his old form. His duty as a member of parliament was wearing him out a lot. Although training and his duties in the parliament took up all his time, he continued to play basketball, appear in movies, and sing.

He was 40 years old when he defeated Lucas Matthysse by technical knockout in Malaysia in July 2018. He won the WBA regular rank half-middleweight title. His desire for boxing took precedence over his age. On January 19, 2019, he agreed to step into the ring with boxing's problem child, Adrien Broner. He didn't stop after defeating Broner. He also defeated an undefeated player like Keith Thurman. He became the world champion in eight weight classes and was approaching the age of 41. He was the only person in history to win championships in eight weight categories. The era of Pac-Man may have passed, but Pac-Man, whose mouth opens and closes, still continues to eat everyone in its path as one of the most popular and well-known games, just like Manny knocks down his opponents with his fast punches...