Things We Didn’t Know About Manny Pacquaio

In his home country, Manny is anything but a regular person. In addition to his wife and five children – named Emmanuel Jr, Michael Stephen, Mary Divine Grace, Queen Elizabeth and Israel – Manny has the whole nation on side. And when he goes for a run in the morning in Los Angeles, he regularly has hundreds of people take that run with him.

He has achieved a lot more than boxing victories too. Manny is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Reserve Force of the Philippine Army and the shortest man to ever play professional basketball in The Philippines. Interestingly, when Daniel Orton played against Manny and then subsequently questioned his abilities publicly, the ex-NBA player was sacked from his team. Yeah, the Filipino public are quite fond of Pacquaio.

He has also starred in a lot of movies in The Philippines. He has played everything form a rebel commander to a crime-fighting superhero. What would you name this superhero? You guessed it – “Pacman”.

Perhaps the craziest thing about Manny Pacquaio is a horrendous story which might give insight in to how he got so tough. It is a short story but it sure packs a punch…

When Manny was just twelve years of age, he ran away from home because his dad ate his dog. No, that was not a misprint. 

“I had a little dog, it got killed by a friend of my dad and then he ate it. I was 12 years of age, it was a tough childhood,” 

Pacquiao said, according to news.com.au.

From there the youngster jumped on a boat to Santos City where to get by, he bought whole boxes of donuts and went around selling them individually to make some cash. He slept in cardboard boxes for some time until he could gain entry in to a boxing program which happened to provide accommodation for fighters.

From those tough and humble beginnings, Manny has literally fought his way to the top. He gained much attention on the road to stardom in 2003 when he became the only person to ever knock out Marco Antonio Barrera, who was considered one of the best of all time. 

An upset victory in 2008 against Oscar De La Hoya began an incredible run of form which saw him take on and beat a whole string of respected fighters on his way to becoming a boxing superstar, not just in his country but the world over.

But he is never more popular than in his home nation. At home in the Philippines, on a night when there is a Pacman fight on television, police reports will usually indicate a dramatic drop in crime. 

Why? Simply because everyone is glued to the TV, watching their national hero.

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