Manny came up in stark contrast to Mayweather. Pacquiao began fighting for purely economic reasons, turning pro at 16. He barely fought at 100 lbs., often times stuffing weighted objects into his shorts at weigh-ins just to meet the minimum standards. Despite everything against him, his talent and savagery were evident early. The scrawny teenager suffered a knockout loss at 17, but otherwise did very well en route to earning a flyweight title shot at age 19—knocking out WBC Champion Chatchai Sasakul for his first world title. After one defense, Thai Medgoen Singsurat knocked him out in 3 rounds.

Pacquiao had finally begun to make some money and his body responded well to the better diet. Making 112 lbs. had become extremely difficult for him, as evidenced by his three-division jump in weight. He began a menacing run at junior featherweight, culminating in a 2001 knockout over 33-1-1 IBF Champion Lehlo Ledwaba. Pacquiao kept winning but was installed as the underdog against Featherweight Champion Marco Antonio Barrera in their 2003 fight. The dominant 11^th round TKO win was Pacquiao’s coming-out party.

The road to superstardom was not without some bumps, as Pacquiao was stymied by Juan Manuel Marquez in 2004 after dropping him thrice in the 1^st round, earning a disputed draw. Two fights later, Pacman dropped a decision to Erik Morales. It seemed like the juggernaut has been tamed. Pacquiao, however, came storming back with a series of wins, including two knockouts of Morales and a tight decision over Marquez for a 130 lb. title.

Just when you thought he couldn’t move up in weight anymore, he kicked his division jumping into an otherworldly gear. After winning a belt in his 4^th weight class against Marquez, he immediately moved up and relieved David Diaz of his WBC Lightweight laurels. Pacquiao looked great against the tough Diaz, as if he had kicked it up a few notches. Nevertheless, he was a solid underdog against Oscar De La Hoya in their 2008 bout. De La Hoya, a onetime titlist at 160 lbs., was figured to be far too big and strong for Pacquiao. Oscar barely laid a glove on him while taking a frightful shellacking that was thankfully halted after 8 shocking rounds.

Pacquiao next took on World Junior Welterweight Champion Ricky Hatton, frightfully stopping him in the 2^nd round. With Mayweather in semi-retirement, Pacquiao was the runaway number-one fighter in the sport. He moved up to welterweight and fought 34-1 WBO Champion Miguel Cotto. In another dominating performance, he stopped the gallant Cotto in the final round. In his last fight, he shut out Joshua Clottey over 12 one-sided rounds.

Manny Pacquiao, 51-3-2 (38 KOs), is already an all-time great. He holds no less than 7 wins over future Hall-of-Famers. Fighting at the world-class level, he has lost only once in the past 11 years—avenging that loss twice in dominating fashion. The 31-year old hero to his nation now looks to add the kind of wins to his resume that will put him in the very upper pantheon of the greatest ever.