50 Fun Facts About Manny Pacquiao

Manny Pacquiao was born in Bukidnon province, on which island of the Philippines?

Mindanao. He was born in the town of Kibawe, and left the island as a teenager to escape poverty and become a boxer.

In which city was Manny Pacquiao raised?

General Santos. He began boxing in an open-air park there after his uncle turned a room of his home into a makeshift gym.

As a teenager, Pacquiao lived on the streets of which city?

Manila. He stowed away on a boat to reach the capital, then slept rough on its streets while he trained at a boxing gym.

Which 1990 fight did Pacquiao say 'changed my life forever' when he watched it with his uncle?

Douglas vs. Tyson. Seeing the underdog win convinced the boy he would become a fighter, and his uncle Sardo Mejia started training him at home.

How did a too-light Pacquiao beat the scales on debut?

Weights in his pockets. At 98 pounds he was several pounds under the limit, the reverse of the usual struggle to sweat down to it.

Why did Pacquiao wear heavier gloves in his first professional defeat?

He missed weight. Rustico Torrecampo then knocked him out in the third round, ending a run of eleven straight wins since his debut.

Pacquiao's first world title, won at 19 in 1998, came in which division?

Flyweight. He was behind on all three scorecards in Thailand when one left hand knocked out champion Chatchai Sasakul in the eighth round.

How did Pacquiao land his 2001 title shot against Lehlohonolo Ledwaba?

As a late substitute. He stepped in for an injured challenger on a few weeks' notice and stopped the champion in six rounds in his American debut.

Pacquiao's long-time trainer Freddie Roach owns which Los Angeles gym?

Wild Card Gym. Roach trained Pacquiao out of the Hollywood gym for 17 years and 34 fights before the boxer dropped him ahead of a 2018 bout.

Pacquiao beat the Mexican star Barrera in 2003 in which Texas city?

San Antonio. Barrera's own brother, working his corner at the Alamodome, stopped the fight in the eleventh round to spare him more punishment.

Which Mexican rival beat Pacquiao on points in March 2005?

Érik Morales. All three judges scored it 115-113 after a deep cut opened over Pacquiao's right eye, but he stopped Morales in the rematch ten months later.

In 2006 Pacquiao was among the first holders of which newly created rank of the Philippines' Order of Lakandula?

Champion for Life. The order had no honour for sporting champions, so President Arroyo added a rank by decree and named the boxer and a beauty queen among its first recipients.

Pacquiao knocked out David Díaz in 2008 to win a title at 135 pounds, in which division?

Lightweight. Díaz was so thoroughly beaten when he fell face-first in the ninth round that the referee did not bother to count.

What was Pacquiao's December 2008 bout with Oscar De La Hoya billed as?

The Dream Match. De La Hoya quit on his stool before the ninth round of a one-sided fight and announced his retirement within months.

Pacquiao knocked out Ricky Hatton with less than ten seconds left in which round?

The 2nd. Hatton had already been down twice in the first, and after one huge left hand he was counted out with a second of the round left.

Which opponent agreed to a 145-pound catchweight for a 2009 fight billed 'Firepower'?

Miguel Cotto. Pacquiao floored the Puerto Rican in the third and fourth rounds and stopped him in the twelfth to take his welterweight title.

Which stadium hosted its first boxing card when Pacquiao fought Joshua Clottey in March 2010?

Cowboys Stadium. The March date had been held for Floyd Mayweather, and when those talks collapsed over drug testing, Pacquiao took his title defence to Arlington instead.

Which far bigger opponent did Pacquiao outpoint in November 2010 for a super welterweight title?

Antonio Margarito. Pacquiao weighed in at 144.6 pounds for a 150-pound catchweight, gave away 17 pounds on the night, and still broke Margarito's orbital bone.

Which Rocky anthem was sung live for Pacquiao's ring walk against Shane Mosley in 2011?

Eye of the Tiger. Survivor's Jimi Jamison sang it after LL Cool J had led Mosley to the ring, and Mosley was on the canvas by the third round.

Who took Pacquiao's WBO welterweight title by a widely derided split decision in 2012?

Timothy Bradley. ESPN scored it 119-109 for Pacquiao, Bradley himself heard the boos, and the WBO had five international judges review the tape.

Who knocked Pacquiao out cold with one second left in the sixth round in December 2012?

Juan Manuel Márquez. It was their fourth fight, and his counter right hand ended it one round after Pacquiao had put him on the canvas.

Pacquiao's first fight in China, against Brandon Ríos in 2013, was held in which city?

Macau. He arrived off two straight defeats, one of them a knockout, and won so widely at the Venetian casino resort that one judge gave him every round.

Whom did Pacquiao floor six times in November 2014 without stopping him?

Chris Algieri. He had already been down five times when his trainer told him between rounds that they were exactly where they needed to be.

Pacquiao said he fought Floyd Mayweather in 2015 with which injury?

A torn rotator cuff. Nevada officials refused him an anti-inflammatory shot about two hours before the fight, and he later had surgery on a significant tear in his right shoulder.

Pacquiao lost his WBO title to Jeff Horn in 2017 before more than 50,000 fans in which Australian city?

Brisbane. Former schoolteacher Horn won a unanimous decision in his home city, and after an outcry the WBO had five independent judges rescore it before letting the result stand.

Which long-time friend and assistant replaced Pacquiao's head trainer for the 2018 Lucas Matthysse fight?

Buboy Fernandez. With his old friend leading the corner in place of Freddie Roach, Pacquiao scored his first knockout win in nine years.

In which country did Pacquiao stop Lucas Matthysse in July 2018?

Malaysia. He floored Matthysse three times at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur and stopped him in the seventh round with a left uppercut.

Beating whom in July 2019 made Pacquiao, at 40, the oldest welterweight world champion ever?

Keith Thurman. Pacquiao knocked the previously unbeaten champion down in the first round and went on to win a split decision.

Why did Errol Spence Jr. withdraw from his scheduled August 2021 fight with Pacquiao?

A retinal tear. Doctors found it in Spence's left eye and he went for surgery, so Yordenis Ugás stepped in on 11 days' notice and beat Pacquiao on points.

How did Pacquiao's July 2025 comeback fight against Mario Barrios end?

A majority draw. Two judges had it 114-114 and one 115-113 for Barrios, so the champion kept his WBC welterweight title against a 46-year-old challenger.

Pacquiao's 2024 exhibition against kickboxer Rukiya Anpo was staged by which Japanese promotion, host of Floyd Mayweather's 2018 exhibition?

Rizin. With no judges at ringside the three-round bout could only be won by knockout, so after going the distance it went down as a draw.

In how many divisions has Pacquiao won world titles?

Eight. He skipped two divisions outright on the way, never fighting at 115 or 118 pounds, in a climb from a 112-pound belt in 1998 to a 154-pound one in 2010.

Pacquiao is the only boxer in history to have held world titles in four different what?

Decades. He won a belt as a teenager in the 1990s and was still a welterweight champion when the 2020s began, at the age of 41.

Which fedora-wearing boxing historian said in 2010 that Pacquiao was probably the greatest southpaw ever?

Bert Sugar. The cigar-chewing former editor of The Ring first refused to rank an active fighter, then relented and called him probably the greatest left-hander ever.

Named the best boxer of the 2000s, Pacquiao received which larger World Boxing Council honour in 2025?

Fighter of the Century. The WBC presented it in California on the night his son Jimuel made his professional debut, and honoured his trainer Freddie Roach alongside him.

Why was Pacquiao an unusual choice to carry the Philippine flag at the 2008 Beijing Olympics?

He was not competing. Swimmer Miguel Molina had already been chosen, but President Arroyo asked officials to reconsider, and Molina carried the flag at the closing ceremony instead.

What happened when Pacquiao first ran for Congress, in 2007?

Lost to the incumbent. Darlene Antonino-Custodio kept her South Cotabato seat, handing the boxing icon his first political defeat, and he switched provinces before running again.

Pacquiao won a House of Representatives seat in 2010 in which province, beating the long-ruling Chiongbian family?

Sarangani. He took about two votes for every one cast for Roy Chiongbian and won by nearly 60,000, three years after losing his first run for Congress.

Which public office did Pacquiao hold when he knocked out Lucas Matthysse in 2018?

Senator. He had hung up his gloves before the 2016 Senate election, then came out of retirement within months and won a world title as a sitting senator.

Who won the 2022 Philippine presidential election, in which Pacquiao finished third?

Bongbong Marcos. Pacquiao took about four million votes, far behind Marcos and runner-up Leni Robredo, and said that as a boxer he knew how to accept defeat.

Pacquiao joined the Philippine Basketball Association in 2014 as player-coach of which new expansion team?

Kia. Already appointed head coach, he still had to enter the rookie draft to play, so the expansion club used a pick on its own coach.

Pacquiao founded which competition in 2017, initially semi-professional?

It started semi-professional and turned fully professional in 2022; he retired as a PBA player in 2018 with fewer than 15 career points.

Pacquiao's cover of which Dan Hill song reached No. 19 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart?

He first sang it on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2009, prompting a Drake parody.

Pacquiao starred in which 2009 Filipino superhero comedy film?

Wapakman. It opened on Christmas Day 2009 as one of seven entries in an annual film festival and finished last of them at the box office.

Which Irish actor and former amateur boxer narrated the 2014 documentary 'Manny' about Pacquiao's life?

Liam Neeson. As a teenage boxer he once left the ring so concussed that, told by his trainer to go downstairs and change, he could not work out what the words meant.

Which sportswear giant dropped Pacquiao in 2016 over his remarks about same-sex marriage?

Nike. It cut ties after he said people in same-sex marriages were worse than animals, and a Los Angeles shopping centre banned him from its premises.

Pacquiao joined the Philippine Army reserve as a sergeant in 2006; which officer rank had he reached by the end of 2017?

Colonel. He went from senior master sergeant straight to lieutenant colonel in 2011, and announced his promotion to full colonel in December 2017.

What took Pacquiao to Canastota, New York, in June 2025?

Hall of Fame induction. He joined the International Boxing Hall of Fame's class of 2025 at the age of 46, with a comeback fight against Mario Barrios only six weeks away.

Pacquiao's 2015 fight with Floyd Mayweather set an all-time record for what?

Pay-per-view sales. About 4.6 million homes paid to watch, nearly double the old record of 2.48 million, and saw Pacquiao lose a unanimous decision.

Which character in the mobile game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang was inspired by Pacquiao?

Paquito. The game's fighter hero was modelled on him, and a skin released in April 2021 gave the character Pacquiao's own name and likeness.