Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. ( PAK-ee-ow; locally [ˈmanɪ pɐkˈjaʊ]; born December 17, 1978) is a Filipino professional boxer and former politician. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time, becoming the only eight-division world champion in boxing history. He also served as a senator of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022.
Pacquiao has won twelve major world titles overall. He won the lineal championship in four different weight classes (flyweight, featherweight, super featherweight, light welterweight). Pacquiao is the first boxer to win major world titles in four of the eight "glamour divisions" (flyweight, featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight), and is the only boxer to hold world championships across four decades (1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s).
In July 2019, Pacquiao became the oldest welterweight world champion in history at the age of 40, and the first boxer in history to become a recognized four-time welterweight champion, after defeating Keith Thurman to win the WBA (Super) welterweight title. As of 2015, Pacquiao's fights had generated $1.2 billion in revenue from his 25 pay-per-view bouts.
Forbes ranked him the second highest paid athlete in the world in 2012 and 2015, and the eighth highest paid athlete of the 2010s. In 2024, ESPN ranked Pacquiao as the greatest Asian athlete of the 21st century. In 2025, The Ring ranked Pacquiao second among the greatest pound-for-pound fighters of the 21st century. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the class of 2025.
Pacquiao entered politics in 2010 when he was elected as the representative of Sarangani. He held this post for six years until he was elected and assumed office as a senator in 2016. He became the leader of the (at that time ruling) PDP–Laban party in 2020 (which is disputed since 2021).
On September 19, 2021, Pacquiao officially declared his candidacy for President of the Philippines in the 2022 Philippine presidential election; he ended up losing to Bongbong Marcos. Following his unsuccessful campaign in the 2025 Senate election, he announced his intention to retire from politics and come out of retirement from boxing.
Outside of boxing and politics, Pacquiao was the player-coach for the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team Kia/Mahindra for three seasons from 2014 to 2017, before founding the semi-professional Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League.
He has also starred in films and has presented television shows. In music, he has released multiple PARI-certified platinum albums and songs; his cover of "Sometimes When We Touch" peaked at 19 in the United States on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart after a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! He is an Evangelical Christian preacher, philanthropist, and entrepreneur.
Early life and education
Manny Pacquiao was born as Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao on December 17, 1978, in Kibawe, Bukidnon, on the island of Mindanao, Philippines. He is the son of Rosalio Pacquiao and actress Dionisia Dapidran. His parents separated when he was in sixth grade, after his father had an affair. He is the fourth of six siblings, one of whom, Alberto "Bobby" Pacquiao, is also a politician and former professional boxer. Pacquiao was raised in General Santos, South Cotabato, also on the island of Mindanao.
At the age of 14, Pacquiao moved to Manila and lived on the streets, worked as a construction worker and had to pick between eating or sending money to his mother. Pacquiao completed his elementary education at Saavedra Saway Elementary School in General Santos, but dropped out of high school due to extreme and abject poverty.
In February 2007, Pacquiao took and passed a high school equivalency exam, and was awarded with a high school diploma by the Department of Education.
Boxing career
Overview
Manny Pacquiao has an amateur record of 60–4 and a record of 62–8–3 as a professional, with 39 wins by knockout. Boxing historian Bert Sugar ranked Pacquiao as the greatest southpaw fighter of all time. In 2021, he ranked number 1 in DAZN's list of the top 10 boxers of the last 30 years.
Pacquiao made history by being the first boxer ever to win world titles in eight weight divisions, having won twelve major world titles. He won the lineal championship in four different weight classes. Pacquiao is also the first boxer in history to win major world titles in four of the original eight weight classes of boxing, also known as the "glamour divisions" (flyweight, featherweight, lightweight and welterweight), and the first boxer ever to become a four-decade world champion, winning world championships across four decades (1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s).
Pacquiao was long rated as the best pound for pound boxer in the world, by most sporting news and boxing websites, including ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Sporting Life, Yahoo! Sports, About.com, BoxRec and The Ring, beginning from his climb to lightweight until his losses in 2012. He is also the longest reigning top-ten active boxer on The Ring's pound for pound list from 2003 to 2016.
Pacquiao has generated approximately 20.4 million in pay-per-view (PPV) buys and $1.3 billion in revenue from 26 PPV-bouts. According to Forbes, he was the world's second highest paid athlete in 2015.
Pacquiao signed with Bob Arum's Top Rank from 2015 to 2017 and Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) promotion on 2018 alongside Paradigm Sports Management on 2020.
On September 29, 2021, Pacquiao announced his retirement from boxing, in a post on social media.
On July 28, 2024, Pacquiao made his debut on Super RIZIN 3 in an exhibition featherweight bout against kickboxer Rukiya Anpo in a boxing match under Rizin Special standing bout rules. As there was no judge's decision, the bout ended in a draw.
Early years
Pacquiao was introduced to boxing at the age of 12 by his maternal uncle Sardo Mejia. According to his autobiography, Pacquiao said watching James "Buster" Douglas defeat Mike Tyson in 1990 with his Uncle Sardo was an experience that "changed my life forever". Mejia began training his nephew in a makeshift home gym.
After 6 months of training, Pacquiao began boxing in a park in General Santos, eventually traveling to other cities to fight higher-ranked opponents. By age 15, he was considered the best junior boxer in the southern Philippines and he moved to Manila. In January 1995, at the age of 16, he made his professional boxing debut as a junior flyweight.
Pacquiao stated of his early years, "Many of you know me as a legendary boxer, and I'm proud of that. However, that journey was not always easy. When I was younger, I became a fighter because I had to survive. I had nothing. I had no one to depend on except myself. I realized that boxing was something I was good at, and I trained hard so that I could keep myself and my family alive."
On December 4, 1998, at the age of 19, he won his first major title, the World Boxing Council (WBC) flyweight title.
Notable fights
Over the course of his decorated career, Pacquiao has defeated 22 world champions: Chatchai Sasakul, Lehlohonolo Ledwaba, Jorge Eliécer Julio, Marco Antonio Barrera (twice), Érik Morales (twice), Óscar Larios, Jorge Solís, Juan Manuel Márquez (twice), David Díaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito, Shane Mosley, Brandon Ríos, Timothy Bradley (twice), Chris Algieri, Jessie Vargas, Lucas Matthysse, Adrien Broner and Keith Thurman.
Pacquiao's most recent bout was against Mario Barrios in 2025. Pacquiao also boxed in an exhibition match against former world champion Jesus Salud, which he won.
Ranking and awards
Pacquiao was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 2000s by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA), World Boxing Council (WBC), World Boxing Organization (WBO), The Sporting News and Home Box Office (HBO). In 2006, 2008, and 2009, he was awarded Ring magazine, ESPN and BWAA's Fighter of the Year, and in 2009 and 2011 he won the Best Fighter ESPY Award. BoxRec ranks him as the greatest Asian fighter of all time.
In 2016, Pacquiao ranked No. 2 on ESPN's list of top pound for pound boxers of the past 25 years and he ranks No.4 in BoxRec's ranking of the greatest pound for pound boxers of all time. As of 2022, Pacquiao was ranked ninth in The Ring's list of the top 100 boxers of all time.
In 2025, Pacquiao was awarded the Fighter of the Century honor by the World Boxing Council and joined Sugar Ray Robinson as the only boxer to have won the "triple crown" of legacy awards: Fighter of the Year, Fighter of the Decade and Fighter of the Century. Also in 2025, Pacquiao ranked second behind his fierce rival Floyd Mayweather in The Ring's list of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters of the 21st century.
Pacquiao is a holder of six Guinness Book World Records. He has the most consecutive boxing world title fight victories at different weights at 15, between 2005 and 2011; he is named the oldest welterweight boxing world champion when he claimed the WBA Welterweight title aged 40 years 215 days on July 20, 2019; he has the most boxing world titles won in different weight divisions with eight, when he defeated Antonio Margarito (USA) to win the WBC Super Welterweight title on November 13, 2010.
He has also held sanctioned belts in the WBC Flyweight, Super Featherweight and Lightweight divisions, plus The Ring Featherweight, IBF Super Bantamweight, IBO and The Ring Light Welterweight and WBO Welterweight. He recorded the highest selling pay-per-view boxing match in a Welterweight title fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on May 2, 2015, and the highest revenue earned from ticket sales for a boxing match from ticket sales title fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on May 2, 2015.
Olympics
Pacquiao has never competed in the Summer Olympics. However, he would participate in the parade of nations of the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony as the Philippine delegation's flag bearer; the first-ever non-participant to serve as the country's flagbearer. Swimmer Miguel Molina, 2005 Southeast Asian Games' Best Male Athlete, yielded the role to Pacquiao, upon the request of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to national sports officials.
He had the opportunity to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, when professional boxers under the age of 40 were allowed to compete in the games for the first time. However Pacquiao, decided not to compete. Pacquiao would signify his interest to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in France. The Philippine Olympic Committee would make a failed petition to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Now 45-years old, Pacquiao was disallowed to participate after the IOC decided to uphold the 40-year-old age limit.
Earnings
Forbes listed Pacquiao as the world's equal sixth highest paid athlete, with a total of $40 million or ₱2 billion pesos from the second half of 2008 to the first half of 2009. Tied with him on the sixth spot was NBA player LeBron James and golfer Phil Mickelson. Pacquiao was again included in Forbes' list of highest paid athletes from the second half of 2009 to the first half of 2010; he was ranked eighth with an income of $42 million. Pacquiao also won the 2009 ESPY Awards for the Best Fighter category, beating fellow boxer Shane Mosley and Brazilian mixed martial arts fighters Lyoto Machida and Anderson Silva. ESPN Magazine reported that Pacquiao was one of the two top earning athletes for 2010, alongside American Major League Baseball player Alex Rodriguez. According to the magazine's annual salary report of athletes, Pacquiao earned $32 million (approximately PhP 1.38 billion) for his two 2010 boxing matches against Clottey and Margarito.
Sports administration
Pacquiao was appointed as vice president of the International Boxing Association in October 2025. The Philippine Olympic Committee has cautioned Pacquiao over associating himself with the IBA, an organization which has been expelled from the International Olympic Committee.
Basketball career
On April 17, 2014, Pacquiao, a passionate basketball fan, announced his intention to join the Philippine Basketball Association as the playing coach of Kia Motors Basketball team, an incoming expansion team for the PBA's 2014–15 season. As the team's head coach, he asked other teams to not draft him before Kia, and picked himself 11th overall in the first round of the 2014 PBA draft, being the oldest rookie to be ever drafted in the league's history. Pacquiao played basketball as part of his training before his matches and prior to his PBA stint, Pacquiao was named an honorary member of the Boston Celtics and established friendships with Steph Curry and basketball Hall of Famers Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen. NBA player Karl-Anthony Towns cites Pacquiao as a "legend" & visited him along with Klay Thompson at training.
On September 4, 2014, Pacquiao trained with the Golden State Warriors at their training facility in preparation for his PBA stint.
On February 18, 2015, Pacquiao played briefly and scored one point when the Sorento pulled a 95–84 upset against Purefoods, which had tapped former NBA player Daniel Orton as their import for the conference. When asked about playing against him, Orton said that "[Pacquiao playing] is a joke...Professional boxer? Yeah. Congressman? All right. But professional basketball player? Seriously? It's a joke." Orton was fined by PBA commissioner Chito Salud and was replaced after a few days. He later became one of the Pilipinas MX3 Kings owners in the Asean Basketball League.
On October 25, 2015, Pacquiao made his first field goal in the PBA in a 108–94 loss against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. On August 21, 2016, Pacquiao scored a career-high four points in a 97–88 victory against the Blackwater Elite, also sinking the first three-point field goal in his career.
In 2017, Pacquiao founded the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, initially a semi-professional league. The MPBL turned professional in 2022. In 2018, although being rumored to transfer to Blackwater, Pacquiao officially announced his retirement from the league after playing just ten games in three seasons and scoring less than fifteen career points.
In 2019, Pacquiao announced that he is "planning to own an NBA team" after boxing retirement.
Political career
House of Representatives (2010–2016)
On February 12, 2007, Pacquiao announced his campaign for a seat in the Philippine House of Representatives to represent the 1st District of South Cotabato province running as a candidate of the Liberal Party faction under Manila mayor Lito Atienza. Pacquiao, said he was persuaded to run by the local officials of General Santos, hoping he would act as a bridge between their interests and the national government. Ultimately Pacquiao was forced to run under the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (KAMPI), a pro-Arroyo political party by the courts. Pacquiao was defeated in the election by incumbent Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), who said, "More than anything, I think, people weren't prepared to lose him as their boxing icon."
In preparation for his political career in the Filipino House of Representatives, Pacquiao enrolled in the Certificate Course in Development, Legislation, and Governance at the Development Academy of the Philippines – Graduate School of Public and Development Management (DAP-GSPDM).
On November 21, 2009, Pacquiao announced that he would run again for a congressional seat, but this time in Sarangani province, the hometown of his wife Jinkee. In May 2010, Pacquiao was elected to the House of Representatives in the 15th Congress of the Philippines, representing the province of Sarangani. He scored a landslide victory over the wealthy and politically well-entrenched Chiongbian clan that had been in power in the province for more than thirty years. Pacquiao got 120,052 votes while his opponent for the seat, Roy Chiongbian, got 60,899 votes.
In 2010, Pacquiao made a speech on human trafficking that earned praise. However, he also received criticism for coming out as uninformed during a discussion of the contentious reproductive health bill that same year.
In 2013, he was re-elected to the 16th Congress of the Philippines. He ran unopposed. Additionally, his wife, Jinkee, was also elected as vice-governor of Sarangani, while his younger brother, Rogelio lost his bid as congressman.
Because of other commitments, Pacquiao only attended one Congress session on the congress' final leg and was criticized for being the top absentee among lawmakers. Pacquiao filed a total of less than 20 bills in six years, with zero of them passing beyond committee.
Senate (2016–2022)
On October 5, 2015, Pacquiao formally declared that he was running for senator under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) party of vice-president Jejomar Binay. On May 19, 2016, Pacquiao was formally elected as a senator by the Commission on Elections. Pacquiao garnered over 16 million votes, landing at 7th place.
Pacquiao earlier aligned himself with the Duterte government. He facilitated on September 18, 2016, the ouster of Leila de Lima (a Duterte critic) from the chairmanship of the Senate Justice committee and criticized de Lima's presentation three days later of an alleged member of the Davao Death Squad.