Biography

Pacquiao started his professional boxing career in 1995 at 106 lbs (Light flyweight) at the age of 16 years. His early fights usually took place in small venues and were shown on Vintage Sports' Blow by Blow, an evening boxing show. His professional debut was a 4-round bout against Sharif Benito on January 22, 1995, which Pacquiao won via decision, becoming an instant star of the program.

His weight increased from 106 to 113 lbs before losing in his 12th bout against Rustico Torrecampo via a third-round technical knockout (TKO). As what sportscaster Joaquin "Quinito" Henson observed, Pacquiao clearly had not made weight. So he was forced to use heavier gloves than Torrecampo, thereby putting Pacquiao at a disadvantage.

Shortly after the Torrecampo fight, Pacquiao settled at 112 lbs, winning the WBC Flyweight title over Chatchai Sasakul in the eighth round only to lose it in his second defense against Medgoen Singsurat, or Medgoen 3K Battery, via a third-round knockout on a bout held at Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. Technically, Pacquiao lost the belt at the scales by surpassing the required weight of 112 lbs (51 kg).

Following his loss to Singsurat, Pacquiao gained weight anew, this time stopping at the superbantamweight division of 122 lbs (55 kg), where he picked up the WBC International Super Bantamweight title, defending it five times before his next world title fight came.

Pacquiao's big break came on June 23, 2001, against IBF Super Bantamweight champion Lehlohonolo Ledwaba. Pacquiao stepped into the fight as a late replacement and won the fight by technical knockout to become the IBF Super Bantamweight champion on a bout held at MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada. He defended this title four times and fought to a sixth-round draw against Agapito Sanchez in a bout that was stopped early after Pacquiao received a headbutt.

Pacquiao's rise

Pacquiao went on to defend his title four times before the match that many consider to have defined his career, a bout against the Mexican boxing idol Marco Antonio Barrera. Pacquiao, moving up in weight and in his first fight ever in the featherweight division, brought his power with him and defeated Barrera via a TKO in the 11th round at the Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas. Although this fight was not recognized as a title fight by any sanctioning bodies, Pacquiao was recognized as world champion by Ring Magazine after his victory [3], and he held that title until relinquishing it in 2005.

Only 6 months removed from his win over Barrera, Pacquiao went on to challenge another respected Mexican counterpuncher, Juan Manuel Márquez, then holder of the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) Featherweight titles. The fight held at the MGM Grand ended in a controversial draw after he knocked down Márquez three times in the first round but lost most of the latter rounds. One of the judges later admitted to making an error in the scorecards because he scored the first round as "10-7" in favor of Pacquiao instead of the standard "10-6" for a three-knockdown round.

In a bout held at Taguig City, P

-Battery to the canvas three times en route to a knockout in the fourth round. A left u3K-Battery to the canvas three times en route to a knockout in the fourth round. A left uppercut to the jaw that lifted the Thai fighter's feet off the canvas ended the fight.

Manny once again moved up another division from 126 to 130 lbs to fight another Mexican legend, three-time division champion Érik Morales on March 19, 2005, at the MGM Grand. However, this time around, at his first fight in the superfeatherweight division, Pacquiao lost the 12-round match by a unanimous decision from the judges.

On September 10, 2005, Manny Pacquiao knocked out Héctor Velázquez, capturing the WBC International Super Featherweight title in the process, in a fight held at Staples Center, Los Angeles, California.

Pacquiao defeated Morales via a 10th-round TKO in a much-anticipated rematch on January 21, 2006 in Las Vegas at Thomas and Mack Center.