Recently Manny Pacquiao has registered as a presidential candidate for the 2022 Philippines elections.
Manny Pacquiao, the Boxing legend, is known for his great instincts, impressive power and knock-out combos.
Abbreviated as the “Pacman”, he is the only eight-division world champion in boxing history.
Winning the four-decade world championship, Pacquiao became the oldest welterweight world champion at the age of 40.
The net worth of the Filipino champ was estimated to be $1.2 billion, ranking him second in 2015 as the highest-paid athlete in the world.
His work has ranged from realising PARI-certified platinum albums to filling candidacy in the Philippine presidential election.
Early Life
The legend was born in Kibawe, Bukidnon, with raising done in General Santos. The childhood for him was a dark past due to the occurrence of some critical conditions.
In sixth grade, his parents separated due to his father’s extra-marital affair, making him work as a construction worker at the age of 14.
His history started some moments, where the teen Manny living on the street has to decide his wage utilisation between satisfying hunger or giving money to his mother.
Education for him wasn’t possible due to extreme poverty, making him high school drop-out. Later he was awarded a high school equivalency diploma in 2007.
Boxing Career
His maternal uncle launched this part of his life at the age of 12 while watching a Mike Tyson match, stated to be a life-changing moment for him.
He expressed boxing as means of survival in the younger generation. After knowing his talent, he meant practice, making his family alive through it.
His boxing career started from his selection in the Philippine National Amateur Boxing team, where all the costs were government paid.
His first victory dated on December 4, 1998, the World Boxing Council (WBC) flyweight title.
Pacquiao recorded 60-4 and professionally 62-7-2 with 39 wins by knock-out, making him named by boxing historian Bert Sugar as southpaw fighter of all time.
His victories include eight world weight division titles and twelve major world titles, making him the first boxer to register.
The triumph dating in four decades in flyweight, featherweight, lightweight and welterweight categories abbreviated him as Glamour divisions.
He retired from his glorious boxing career on September 29, 2021, due to his expansion in his political career.
Political Career
His Political career went public on February 12 2007, on his announcement of campaigning for a seat in the Philippine House of Representatives.
He stated that the local officials persuaded him to bridge their interests to the national government.
Darlene Antonio of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) commented on his defeat in the campaign as the people weren’t expecting to lose him as their boxing icon.
After a two-year gap, in 2009, he declared for trying again from his wife Jinked hometown Sarangani Province, returning a landslide victory in his hands.
This victory acted as a key for him to enter Politics. The spotlight moments in his political career occurred in 2015 when his formal election as a senator by the Commission on Elections gathered 16 million votes, landing him 7th among 12 new members of the senate.
In the Covid-19 pandemic, a report stated his charity work with Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma to bring 50,000 Covid-19 test kits to the Philippines through their charity foundation.
Currently, he is running for presidential elections in the Philippines. Many say he is a novice to Philippine politics, fighting on his sports personality, but opinion polls show his oscillation between third and fourth positions.
