When people hear the name Manny Pacquiao, all they could think of his how great he is as a boxer. All they could think about him is how powerful and how strong he is as a fighter in the ring. He has gone really really far from his roots, and only few people know about this. So in this manuscript, let us all go through Manny’s little steps in achieving his undeniably peak of success today!
Emmanuel “Manny” Dapidran Pacquiao is a known boxer, politician, Pastor, entrepreneur who was born at the poverty-stricken place of Kibawe, Bukidnon. He was born in December 17, 1978 to Rosalio Pacquiao and Dionisia Dapidran-Pacquiao. He is the fourth among the six children of his parents. At a very young age, Pacquiao lost the chance to grow up having a complete family. His father left them for another woman, and in that very young age he realized that life can sometimes be very cruel.
Since his father had left them, Manny bore the weight of his father’s responsibilities on his shoulders. He needed to stop attending school because his family cannot afford to send him anymore. He helped his mother in any way he can, just to contribute to their family’s budget. He used to sell bread and homemade doughnuts together with his siblings in the streets of General Santos City where they transferred. It was really a period of struggle for the Pacquiao family.
Similar with other teenage boys, Manny also learned about the art of boxing while he used to wander on the streets. He used to watch people engage in fights, and right there and then, he realized what he wanted to be. So, when he’s not selling doughnuts, he secretly joined boxing fights. Back then, winners were given P150 (~US$3) and losers were given P100 (~US%2). It was already a big amount for the young Pacquiao. He would then give his winnings to her mother to contribute to their family budget.
Having the potential and the big passion for a boxing career, Manny then tried to enter official boxing fights at 106 lbs. when he was 16. Natural talent that he is, it did not took long before he got invited by some big personalities to come over in Manila and explore there the big world of Boxing. Manny felt that it was the beginning of a wonderful career ahead of him, so he bravely asked for permission on his mother. As he was expecting it, his mother refused because he was still very young. Despite that, he sailed to Manila, with a strong belief that boxing would take him places where he wants to be. Having landed on Manila, he trained himself hard. He trained every day as if it’s gonna be his last fight every time. Because of that, he has won 11 straight fights. And it was not until his fight with Rustico Torrecampo in February 1996 that he suffered actual loss. Up to date, Torrecampo is the only Filipino who has officially beaten Manny on a boxing fight.
Having lost once did not stop Manny on training himself to be the very best. He continued on taking on hard training schedules and techniques. He even went abroad to compete with other boxers like in Japan, Thailand and South Korea. At age 19, Manny has already won a World Championship Title when he defeated Chatchai Sasakul, the defending World Boxing Council (WBC) World Flyweight Champion at that time. Excited to reach greater heights, Manny went back to hard and extreme training and by 2001, he already has set foot in the most prestigious boxing arena in Las Vegas Nevada. It was in June 2001 when he competed with Lehlohonolo Ledwaba, the International Boxing Federation (IBF) Super Bantamweight Champion in the MGM Grand Arena. It was a fight Manny would always remember. Why? Because even if he bagged only a small amount of money, the noise he made in that arena was a huge start of his career in the USA.
He then started training with his coach, Freddie Roach on the Wild Card Gym. Coach Freddie is the one who immediately took interest in him because of his strong punches and good footwork. After several trainings, he then took a fight with Marco Antonio Barrera, where he reigned as a World Champion once again in 2003. It was an epic win, which resulted for a rematch in 2003; where Pacquiao won once again. In 2004, he then fought Juan Miguel Marquez, where he unfortunately loss. But Pacquiao did not stop there. He took on many fights with Jorge Solis, rematch with Marquez, a fight with Golden Boy Oscar Dela Hoya, and with Ricky Hatton. He won all of those matches and by the end of 2009, he has already 8 world titles making him the most famous boxer of the season. Every street in the Philippines were like ghost towns during his fights. Every Filipino was so proud of what he have become in the ring.
Manny’s story is really an inspiring one. After achieving all of these, he has remained humble and kind hearted. He was also considered as one of the greatest athletes in 2009, making him the cover of the very prestigious The Time magazine. He was even more acknowledged by the Forbes Magazine as the 6th highest paid athlete of 2009 earning a total of US$40MIllion from second half of 2008 to first half of 2009. He also was one of the most influential people of the year 2009.
Indeed, Manny has came a very long long way from his beginnings. Looking back, who would have thought that this simple out-of-school youth and doughnut vendor would become a billionaire and a boxing legend? Life works in really amazing and unfathomable ways. When Manny was asked what are the ingredients of his success, all that he said was four things: Perseverance, Courage, Extreme self-discipline and prayers.
His strong determination to get out of poverty and give pride to the country is what drove him to be the best. His unrelenting courage is what makes him brave enough to face each fight with confidence and self-trust. His extreme self-discipline is what made him focus on his ultimate goal. And above all, it is his prayers that made him the person he is now; it is his prayers that kept him on the ground and above is opponents. Furthermore, Pacquiao once said that…
”Anyone will succeed in whatever field of endeavor in life by acquiring the same virtues and character that boxing world champions do.”
Today, Manny is not only a renowned boxing champion but as a life changer himself. He vowed to serve the country by being a politician, and he vowed to serve God by being a Pastor. He believes firmly that God has a perfect plan for each and every one of us; we just have to believe in Him, to trust in His promises and to cling on to His visions for us. Manny’s success is definitely a heart-touching one. But despite his material triumphs and breakthroughs, let us look at Manny as someone who has been successful in bringing about change in other people’s lives.
