MANILA, Philippines - The motivation that keeps the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter Manny Pacquiao at the top of his game comes from within. It is the soul of a warrior born in poverty, raised in adversity and thrust onto the global stage as one of the greatest Filipino athletes ever.
Pacquiao will never forget his humble beginnings. That’s what grounds him and spurs him to seek a better life for his family. He worked long and hard to get to where he is. He shed blood, sweat and tears to become the only fighter in history to capture eight world titles in different divisions, a feat that isn’t likely to be duplicated in several lifetimes to come.
Now that he’s a Congressman, Pacquiao is in a position to extend his influence as a legislator. It’s not only his family that he fights for, in or out of the ring. Today, he carries the responsibility of fighting for his constituents in Sarangani. And in Congress, he has the opportunity to touch the lives of people all over the country.
“As a Congressman, one of my goals is to create opportunities beyond boxing for my fellow Filipinos by helping to bring billions more in other industries and commerce,” said Pacquiao in his book “Pacman: My Story of Hope, Resilience and Never-Say-Never Determination.” “I want to build my country as I have my career. I want to live for my country. I want to bleed for my country. I will bring my ideas to create opportunities for the poor – for the people with whom I shared a path. I’m smart enough to know that I cannot do it alone. I will need my wife, my children, my confidants and most importantly, God in my corner.”
Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said Pacquiao has intimated that he plans to retire from boxing at the end of 2013, meaning four fights are left on his plate. The plan is to fight twice next year and twice more in 2013 when he runs for Governor of Sarangani. With Pacquiao’s unflinching commitment to serve his countrymen, there is no doubt he will eventually become a full-time politician.
Pacquiao was born in Kibawe, Bukidnon, and grew up in General Santos City. His mother Dionisia bore two children, Liza and Domingo, before meeting Rosalio Pacquiao, a farmer with roots in Cebu. Dionisia had four children with Rosalio – Isidra, Manny, Bobby and Rogel. When Pacquiao was in sixth grade at the Saavedra Saway Elementary School, his parents split up. They broke up after Dionisia found out Rosalio had a relationship with another woman.
Pacquiao dropped out of high school to help his mother put food on the table. Dionisia had six mouths to feed and couldn’t make ends meet selling vegetables on sidewalks, doing odd jobs and working in a factory. Pacquiao took to the streets peddling bread, doughnuts, cigarets, whatever he could turn into cash. To make extra money, he hung around in town plazas and participated in amateur boxing events. “He was just another kid who knew if he won a few fights, he might get P100,” recalled Rey Golingan, a gym owner in General Santos City.
It wasn’t long before Pacquiao developed a passion for the Sweet Science. Dionisia remembered that when Pacquiao was eight, he would wrap towels around his hands to pretend to be a boxer. When Pacquiao was 11, he watched the James Douglas-Mike Tyson fight on TV and it left a lasting impression. Douglas defied oddsmakers by knocking out Tyson in Tokyo in 1990. “Though I was still harboring thoughts of becoming a priest, my life changed that day,” said Pacquiao in his book. “I knew without a doubt that I would become a fighter. I knew that the underdog can and often does, win. This was my first visual hope in life that I could be something or someone.”
When he was 14, Pacquiao was recruited by a General Santos City talent agent Yolanda Parcon to join Malabon businessman Polding Correa’s boxing stable. Pacquiao was penniless riding a boat with about eight other teenaged hopefuls to invade Manila. He left home without his mother’s knowledge and later wrote her a letter apologizing for skipping out. Pacquiao trained at the L&M Gym in Paquita, Sampaloc, and at night, slept in the same ring where he worked out, soaked in blood and sweat. He dreamed of becoming a world champion, of owning a home, of driving his own car, of taking care of his mother and of providing for his fellow fighters.
Pacquiao turned pro at 16, weighing only106 pounds, one over the minimumweight limit. Slowly, he built a reputation as a crowd-pleaser, an exciting and explosive brawler who wouldn’t back down from anyone. In 1998, Pacquiao was way behind on points when he stopped Chatchai Sasakul in the eighth round to wrest the WBC flyweight crown in Thailand. A year later, he met and married a beautiful Filipino-Spanish mestiza Maria Geraldine (Jinkee) Jamora, then working as a beauty consultant for skin care products in a General Santos City mall.
Today, Pacquiao and Jinkee are parents of four children – Jimuel, Michael, Princess and Queenie. “I have a life with my family and friends and I have a job,” said Pacquiao in his book. “At home, I’m not really focused on anything except enjoying my family. But when I’m at work, whether in the boxing ring or in the entertainment industry, I give it my all. Boxing is my profession and I approach my work with an intensity that I wouldn’t use in normal circumstances. My family and friends say that when I am with them, my eyes are warm and friendly but in the ring, against an opponent, my eyes are cold and aggressive like an angry cat’s.”
As a father, Pacquiao wants nothing more than a bright future for his children. He went through hard times as a boy. What he experienced growing up is something he wouldn’t wish for his children and so they are growing up living comfortably, enjoying a high-level education and never leaving their feet off the ground.
Even as he is wealthy beyond his wildest imagination, Pacquiao will never forget where he came from. That’s why, today, on his birthday, Pacquiao is back in General Santos City celebrating with friends and family, still dreaming the dream of making better lives for his countrymen.