MANILA, Philippines - At the age of 14, a young man from General Santos in South Cotabato moved to Manila so that he and his family could have a better life. For a time, he lived on the streets. He started boxing and made it to the Philippine National Team where his room and board were paid by the government. At that time, he reportedly had an amateur record of 64 fights (6-4).
In 1995, the death of an aspiring boxer and close friend Eugene Barutag spurred the young Manny Pacquaio to pursue a professional boxing career. He started his professional boxing career when he was just 16 years old, stood 4’11”, and weighed 98 lbs.
The rest, as they say, is history. Pacquiao has since brought many honors to our country through his legendary career. He is the first eight-division world champion with six titles under his belt, as well as the first lineal championship in four different weight classes.
Pacquaio’s stature in boxing has been iconic: Fighter of the Decade for the 2000s by the Boxing Writers Association of America, the World Boxing Council Fighter of the Decade, and the HBO Fighter of the Decade. He was also named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2009.
He is considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world by most sporting news and boxing websites including The Ring, BoxRec.com, and Sporting Life.
In the Philippines, the government conferred on him the Presidential Medal of Merit in 2003, the Order of Lakandula, in 2006, and the Order of Sikatuna with the rank of Datu in 2009.
Aside from boxing, he is also into acting, music recording, business, and politics. In May 2010, Pacquiao was elected to the House of Representatives representing the province of Sarangani.
“I want to erase the image of the corrupt politician,” he says. “I want my name to be synonymous with excellent public service and clean and good government.“ He adds that his impoverished past has made him understand his constituents better.
Despite all these honors, he remains down to earth and close to his GenSan roots, retaining the folksy charm and humor that has made him loved by many people. Pacquiao is also a source of inspiration and hope to many Filipinos who have seen him transform his underprivileged past into a success story.
Here, Manny Pacquiao takes us around the GenSan of his youth and the SM Mall in it.