Antonio Margarito Biography and Full Profile

Antonio Margarito (born March 18, 1978) is a boxer from Tijuana, Mexico. Margarito is the WBO's world Welterweight champion.On January 14, 1994, he beat Jose Trujillo in Tijuana by decision in four rounds, to make his professional debut.On April 25, he achieved his first knockout win, defeating Victor Angulo in the second round. On October 17, however, he suffered his first defeat, to Victor Lozoya, by decision in six. Over the course of his next six bouts, he lost two. However, he went onto a winning streak after that loss that has so far, reached twenty wins in a row, not including his fight with Daniel Santos, which ended in a no contest. Before getting to fight with Santos, he beat such fighters as Alfred Ankamah, Juan Soberanes and former Julio Cesar Chavez rivals Buck Smith, David Kamau and Frankie Randall, a former World Jr. welterweight champion who became the first man to beat Chavez in 91 fights.
On July 21, 2001, he received his first world title try, against Santos, for the WBO world Welterweight crown, at Bayamon, Puerto Rico's Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum. The fight had to be stopped in the first round as a consequence of a clash of heads that opened deep gashes on both fighters and sent them both to a nearby hospital. Because the fight had not gone over the reglamentary four rounds or more for a technical decision to be awarded, it was declared a no contest, and Santos retained the belt but without adding a loss to Margarito's record.

Santos then vacated the WBO world Welterweight title to pursue the WBO's world Jr. Middleweight championship, and Margarito was assigned to fight Antonio Diaz for the vacant world crown, in front of an HBO Boxing audience. On March 16, 2002, Margarito crowned himself world champion by beating Diaz by knockout in round ten. He defended that crown with a decision in twelve over Danny Perez and a knockout in two over former world champion Andrew Lewis.

Margarito has decided to go up in weight, to try to lure Fernando Vargas, Oscar De La Hoya or Shane Mosley into a fight, or Santos into a rematch at the Jr. Middleweight division. He is still also actively looking for an unification bout with WBC and WBA world champion Ricardo Mayorga. On October 17, 2003, Margarito made his Jr. Middleweight division debut with a two round knockout win over Maurice Brantley in Phoenix, Arizona.

On January 31, 2004, and back at the Welterweight division, he retained his title with a second round knockout of Canada's Hercules Kyvelos, who was undefeated until then.

Margarito faced Daniel Santos in a rematch on September 11 of the same year, at the Jose Miguel Agrelot coliseum in San Juan, for Santos' WBO world Jr. Middleweight title. The rematch also ended because of a headbutt, but this time, as the fight had already reached the four rounds mark that is needed for fights like these to be decided by judges, Margarito lost by a split ten round technical decision.

Margarito has a record of 30 wins, 4 losses and 1 no contest, with 21 wins by knockout.
At the age of 30, Antonio is a 14-year pro .He won the the IBF welterweight world title in his last fight on April 12 when he gave a sensational performance and knocked out defending champion Kermit Cintron in the sixth round of their rematche has now given up the IBF title in order to challenge Miguel Cotto for the WBA world title.After the Cintron fight, Dan Rafael wrote on ESPN.com: “Man or machine? Margarito looked more like machine in this rematch of a 2005 title bout in which he destroyed Cintron in five rounds.
 
“Cintron had been haunted by that loss for the past three years and was man enough to give Margarito a rematch. Turned out to be a mistake. Although Cintron, a sensational puncher, delivered some hard blows, Margarito walked through them and took Cintron apart again in a shockingly one-sided fight.“Margarito, 30, had lost his version of the title to Paul Williams last summer because he started slow and gave away most of the first half of the fight. He clearly has learned his lesson. He blew out Golden Johnson in one round in his November comeback fight and also started fast against Cintron, 28, never letting up until knocking him out with a brutal left to the body in the sixth.

“Margarito was so thoroughly enjoying the butt-whipping he was laying on Cintron that while he was on the canvas taking the count from referee Earl Brown, Margarito was in the neutral corner begging Cintron to get up. Margarito’s victory sets up a July 26 with main event winner Miguel Cotto, which has all the ingredients to make for a classic. It’s Mexico vs. Puerto Rico. Brawler against brawler. It has fight of the year written all over it, and that’s even in a year that has already produced Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez III and Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez II.”

Fightwriter.com’s Graham Houston reported: “I am starting to think that Antonio Margarito might be one of the toughest fighters ever seen in the welterweight division, which is saying something.
“He took some bombs from Kermit Cintron...and just kept coming forward, letting the punches fly, a relentless aggressor who would not be denied.“Cintron, as had generally been expected, put up a far better fight than he did three years ago in Las Vegas when Margarito rolled right over him in five rounds, and he was not disgraced in his sixth-round defeat. Cintron did as well as anyone could reasonably have expected, but the result never really seemed in doubt from round two onwards.

“It was as if everything Cintron delivered was being repaid with interest. He would land clean, flush shots, then Margarito would come to him again and batter him around.

“It must have been very discouraging for Cintron to see Margarito walk through everything. In the third round, for instance, Cintron landed a textbook-perfect right uppercut, a tremendous shot, yet Margarito merely paused for a couple of seconds - as if he was thinking: “That was a good shot” - and then marched right in again.“Although each man was cut, Margarito, Lord love him, seemed to be enjoying the fight in the fifth round while Cintron was like a man fighting for his very life. When Margarito grinned at Cintron after taking yet another direct hit it seemed clear that the IBF title would soon be changing hands, but the end came suddenly in the sixth when a left hook to the body crumpled the Puerto Rican fighter.” [End Houston item]

Antonio is also a former WBO welterweight world champion. He won the title in March, 2002, and made seven successful defenses before losing the title against Paul Williams in July, 2007.

Antonio told Boxingtalk.net, “You know, honestly, during the fight I thought I was well ahead on the cards. But then when I sat down to watch the fight, I saw that they gave him the fight just because he threw more punches, like an amateur fight. I connected more blows than him and he simply slapped. He threw double what I threw and I landed more punches. It seems the judges scored his slaps instead of the punches that I got through. Although, as everyone mentioned, I did learn from that fight that I can no longer be slow starter. From now on I plan to get right to it from the opening bell. I learned plenty from that fight.”Antonio has fought good opposition throughout his career and has several impressive wins. He was the underdog in many of his early fights, and had a few setbacks in his first two years as a pro - he was 9-3 in his first 12 fights.Antonio’s webpage address is antoniomargarito.com.
 
PROFESSIONAL RECORD OF KEY FIGHTS
2008
APRIL - WON IBF W WORLD TITLE - in his last fight on he knocked out defending champion Kermit Cintron (29-1). This rematch was co-featured with the Miguel Cotto-Alfonso Gomez main event and it was an exciting fight. Cintron won the 1st round on two scorecards, but Antonio pressured him relentlessly after that and shut him out on the scorecards. Cintron had his moments and landed several clean, hard right hands and uppercuts, but Antonio came back strongly every time and rocked Cintron repeatedly. Antonio was cut over his left eye in the 3rd round, and Cintron was cut over his right eye in the 5th. Antonio scored a knockdown with a left hook to the body in the 6th round, and Cintron was counted out on his hands and knees - face down on the canvas - at 1:57. After five rounds, Antonio led by scores of 50-45, 49-46, 49-46.




 
2007
NOVEMBER - WON VACANT WBO INTERCONTINENTAL W TITLE - by TKO against former NABF lightweight and welterweight champion Golden Johnson (25-7-3). Antonio quickly overpowered Johnson. He scored three knockdowns in the 1st round – the first with two left uppercuts that put Johnson flat on his back, the second with a series of punches that dropped Johnson to one knee, the third with three left hooks to the body and and head that put Johnson on his hands and knees. The referee stopped the fight without a count at 2:38.

JULY - LOST WBO W WORLD TITLE by a 12 round unanimous decision against five-foot 11-inch tall lefthander Paul Williams (32-0). Williams kept a relentless pace in the early rounds and built a big lead on the scorecards – after six rounds, he led by scores of 60-54, 59-55, 59-55. but Antonio rallied in the second half of the fight – he hurt Williams with a left hook to the body in the 7th round and swept the round on all three scorecards, won the 8th on two scorecards, then swept the 10th. He cut Williams badly over his left eye in the 11th round and swept that round on the scorecards, as well, but Williams came back and won the 12th on two scorecards, and won by scores of 116-112, 115-113, 115-113.

2006
December: Won 7th WBO Welterweight World Title Defense by a 12-round unanimous decision against Joshua Clottey (30-1). In a hard-fought battle, Clottey started fast and swept the 2nd and 3rd rounds on all three scorecards and won the 4th on two; but Antonio rallied in the 5th and stepped up his pace in the second half of the fight. He swept rounds five through 11 on all three scorecards. After the fight, Antonio said, “10 months off really didn’t help me. I couldn’t get my rhythm early in the fight, but I definitely warmed up starting in the fifth roundFebruary: Won 6th WBO Welterweight World Title Defense by TKO against Manuel Gomez. Margarito was very impresseve. He scored a knockdown with a series of punches in the 1st round, and the referee stopped the fight in mid-count at 1:14.

2005
April: Won 5th WBO Welterweight World Title Defense against previously undefeated Kermit Cintron (24-0) by TKO. It was a highly-anticipated event, but Antonio dominated the fight. He cut Cintron over the right eye with an uppercut in the 3rd round, then scored two knockdowns in the 4th. Antonio scored two more knockdown in the 5th round and Cintron's cornerman threw in the towel, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:21.February: Won 4th WBO Welterweight World Title Defense against Sebastian Lujan (22-1-1) by TKO, when he dismantled the tough, durable Lujan in six rounds. The bout was stopped after the cartilage in Lujan's left ear had separated from the ear itself. The ear was also bleeding from a broken ear drum.

2004
September: Lost WBO Junior Middleweight World Title Challenge by Technical Split Decision against defending champion, Daniel Santos in the rematch. Santos has always been known for constant movement, but stayed in punching range. He staggered Margarito late in the 1st round and outworked him early in the fight. Antonio punched effectively to the body and came on strongly in the middle rounds, but was badly cut on his right eyebrow by a clash of heads in the 6th. The remaining rounds were close, but the ringside doctor stopped the fight on the cut in the 9th round, after his third examination of the injury and the fight went to the scorecards. It looked like the decision could go either way, and many ringsiders thought Margarito deserved to win, but the judges scored in favour of Santos.

January: Won 3RD WBO Welterweight World Title Defense by TKO against previously undefeated Hercules Kyvelos. Margarito headlined the card and gave an overwhelming performance. He buckled Kyvelos' knees with a left uppercut midway through the 1st round, and trapped him on the ropes later in the round with an unanswered series of punches. Kyvelos landed his best punch of the fight early in the 2nd round with a straight right hand to the chin, but Antonio just smiled, nodded his head in recognition, and knocked down Kyvelos, flat on his side with a left uppercut. Kyvelos got up, but was very unsteady and staggered backwards into the ropes without a punch being thrown. Antonio attacked and the referee stopped the fight.

2003
October: Won by KO against Maurice Brantley in a non-title 10-rounder. Margarito scored one knockdown in the 1st round and scored another knockdown in the 2nd with a left hook to the body, and Brantley was counted out.February: Won 2nd WBO Welterweight World Title Defense by TKO against former WBA welterweight world champion, Andrew "Six Heads" Lewis. Lewis started fast and outworked Margarito in the 1st round, but Antonio just smiled at him through the punches. In the 2nd round, Antonio staggered Lewis with a right hand, and followed with a series of punches that left him sagging into the ropes and defenseless, and the referee stopped the fight.

2002
October: Won 1st WBO Welterweight World Title Defense by 12-round unanimous decision against Danny Perez. Margarito dominated the fight and rocked Perez in the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th rounds. He constantly pressured Perez and wore him down.March: Won vacant WBO Welterweight World Title by TKO against Antonio Diaz in an impressive performance in an exciting fight. The scores were even after six rounds, but Antonio kept a relentless pace, swept rouns 7, 8 and 9 on two scorecards, and gradually wore down Diaz. Margarito scored a knockdown in the 10th round with a series of uppercuts. Diaz got up, but Antonio rocked him several more times and Diaz' corner threw in the towel to stop the fight.

2001
July: WBO Welterweight World Title Challenge ruled No Contest against Daniel Santos. The fight had a premature ending. The fighters accidentally clashed heads in the first round and Antonio was badly cut on the right eyebrow, causing the referee to stop the fight.

March: Won by KO against Robert West. Margarito scored two knockdowns, the first with a series of right hands to the body, the second with a left hook to the body, and stopped West in the first round.

2000
December: Won by TKO against former three-time world champion, Frankie Randall. Margarito dominated the fight. He hurt Randall badly late in the third, staggered him late in the fourth, and Randall did not answer the bell for the fifth round.September: Won by TKO against Jose Benitez in the 1st round.June: Won by KO against two-time world title challenger, David Kamau. Margarito scored two knockdowns in the 2nd round, and the referee stopped the fight without a count.February: Won by TKO against previously undefeated Sergio Martinez. Margarito scored a knockdown in the 7th round and stopped Martinez.

1999
December: Won by KO against Efrain Munoz. Margarito scored two knockdowns in the first round and one in the second when Munoz was counted out.October: Won by TKO against veteran, Buck Smith. Margarito stopped him with a body punch in the sixth round.June: Won 8-Round Split Decision against Danny Perez. Margarito was knocked down in the first round, but came back strong to win. Perez went on to win the NABF title.

1998
December: Won by KO against Reyes Estrada in the 2nd round.April: Won 8-Round Decision against veteran, Miguel "Jarocho" Gonzalez.

1996October: Won by KO against heavily-favored Alfred Ankamah. Margarito staggered Ankamah in the second round and he barely survived. Ankamah recovered and was coming on strong in the fourth when Margarito knocked him down and out with two right hands.June: Lost 10-Round Decision against slick southpaw, Rodney Jones, who frustrated Margarito with his speed and constant movement.February: Lost 10-Round Decision against Larry Dixon.

Manny Pacquiao Profile and Full Biography

Name : Manny Pacquiao
Date of Birth : 17 December 1978, Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines
Birth Name : Emmanuel Pacquiao
Nickname : Pac Man The Destroyer
Height : 5' 6" (1.68 m)





MANNY PACQUIAO'S BIOGRAPHY :
Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao (pronounced born December 17, 1978), known as Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao is a Filipino professional boxer, part-time actor and recording artist. He is the former WBC Lightweight world champion, WBC Super Featherweight world champion, IBF Super Bantamweight world champion, and WBC Flyweight world champion. He has also held the Ring Magazine titles for Featherweight, Super Featherweight, and Light Welterweight divisions. For his achievements, he became the first Filipino and Asian boxer to win five world titles in five different weight divisions. He is currently the IBO and Ring Magazine Light Welterweight champion and is rated by the Ring Magazine as the 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world. He is also the first boxer to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes.

Personal life
Pacquiao was born in Kibawe, Bukidnon, Mindanao and currently resides in his home town General Santos City, South Cotabato, Philippines. He is married to Jinkee Pacquiao and they have four children.

Early career
Pacquiao started his professional boxing career at the age of 16 at 106 lbs (Light Flyweight). His early fights took place in small local venues and were shown on Vintage Sports' Blow by Blow, an evening boxing show. His professional debut was a 4-round bout against Edmund "Enting" Ignacio on January 22, 1995, which Pacquiao won via decision, becoming an instant star of the program. Close friend Mark Penaflorida's death in 1994 spurred the young Pacquiao to pursue a professional boxing career.His weight increased from 106 to 113 lbs before losing in his 12th bout against Rustico Torrecampo via a third-round knockout (KO). Pacquiao had not made the 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, also known as 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 as he surpassed the weight limit of 112 lbs (51 kg).
Following his loss to Singsurat, Pacquiao gained weight anew. This time, Pacquiao went to the Super Bantamweight division of 122 lbs (55 kg), where he picked up the WBC International Super Bantamweight title. He defended the title five times before his chance for a 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 five times and fought to a sixth-round draw against Agapito Sánchez in a bout that was stopped early after Pacquiao received 2 headbutts.

Pacquiao's rise :

1st fight with Barrera Pacquiao went on to defend his title four times with expert training from Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Gym, improving his hand speed and mental preparation before the match that many consider to have defined his career, a bout against 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, and he held that title until relinquishing it in 2005.

1st fight with Márquez
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.

1st fight with Morales
Pacquiao 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 Las Vegas. However, this time around, at his first fight in the Super Featherweight division, Pacquiao lost the 12-round match by a unanimous decision from the judges.

WBC International Super Featherweight title
On September 10, 2005, Manny Pacquiao fought Héctor Velázquez at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. He knocked Velázquez out in 6 rounds to capture the WBC International Super Featherweight title. On the same day, his rival, Erik Morales, fought against Zahir Raheem. However, Morales fought a lackluster performance, losing to Raheem via unanimous decision.

2nd bout with Morales
The much-anticipated rematch between Pacquiao and Morales happened on January 21, 2006 at Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. In that fight, Morales escaped being knocked down twice, one during the 2nd round by holding on to the ropes and the other on the 6th round by falling on the referee's body. Pacquiao eventually knocked Morales out in the 10th round, dealing him the first knockout loss in his boxing career.

Oscar Larios
On July 2, 2006, Pacquiao defeated Óscar Larios, a two-time Super Bantamweight champion who had moved up two weight divisions in order to face Pacquiao. Despite his camp's big promise of an early knockout, the fight went until the final round, with Pacquiao knocking down Larios two times during the 12-round bout for the WBC International Super Featherweight title held at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines.

Final bout with Morales
Pacquiao fighting Érik Morales in their third match.Pacquiao and Morales fought for a third time (with the series tied 1-all) on November 18, 2006. Witnessed by a near-record crowd of 18,276, the match saw Pacquiao defeating Morales via a third-round knockout at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.After the Pacquiao-Morales rematch, Bob Arum, Pacquiao's main promoter, announced that Manny returned his signing bonus check back to Golden Boy Promotions, signaling intentions to stay with Top Rank. This resulted in GBP's decision to sue Pacquiao over contractual breaches.At the end of 2006, he was named by both HBO and Ring Magazine as the "Fighter of the Year", with HBO also naming him as the most exciting fighter of the year.

Jorge Solis
After a failed promotional negotiation with Marco Antonio Barrera's camp, Bob Arum chose Jorge Solís as Pacquiao's next opponent among several fighters that Arum offered him to fight as a replacement. The bout was held in San Antonio, Texas on April 14, 2007. In the sixth round of the bout, an accidental headbutt occurred, giving Pacquiao a cut under his left eyebrow. The fight ended in the eighth round when Pacquiao knocked Solis down twice; with Solis barely beating the count after the second knockdown, the referee (who was also a doctor) was prompted to stop the fight. The victory raised Pacquiao's win-loss-draw record to 44-3-2, with 34 knockouts.

Second bout with Barrera
On June 29, 2007, it was announced that Top Rank and GBP agreed to settle their lawsuit, meaning the long-awaited rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera will occur despite being the #1 contender for the Super Featherweight title of Juan Manuel Márquez.Since Bob Arum was out on a vacation, GBP's chief executive Richard Schaefer politely declined to discuss Pacquiao’s purse from the October 6, 2007 rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera (at the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas). However, Pacquiao was likely to get a purse of $5 million, plus possibly a share of the pay-per-view rights. Pacquiao defeated Barrera in their rematch via an easy unanimous decision. In the 11th round, Pacquiao's punch caused a deep cut under Barrera's right eye. Barrera retaliated with an illegal punch on the break that dazed Pacquiao but also caused the referee to deduct a point from Barrera. Two judges scored the bout 118-109, whereas the third scored it 115-112.
 
Other events
In The Ring Magazine, Pacquiao (45-3-2) remained at the top of the Junior Lightweight division (130 lbs). He had been in the ratings for 108 weeks. Pacquiao was also at No. 2 in the pound-for-pound category behind former Welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr.On November 13, 2007, he was honored by the WBC as Champ Emeritus during its 45th Annual World Convention held at the Manila Hotel.On November 20, 2007, José Nuñez, manager of WBO Super Featherweight champion Joan Guzmán, accused Pacquiao's handler Bob Arum of evading a match between the two boxers to protect Pacquiao. Guzmán went as far as to directly call out Pacquiao at the postfight press conference of the Pacquiao-Barrera rematch in front of a stunned crowd at the Mandalay Bay Events Center's media room in Las Vegas.

The 240-member House of Representatives of the Philippines, on August 7, 2008, issued a Resolution, sponsored by South Cotabato Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio, which recognized Pacquiao as “a people’s champ” - “for his achievements and in appreciation of the honor and inspiration he has been bringing ... to the Filipino people.” He received a plaque from Speaker Prospero Nograles.

On July, 2008, it was announced that Pacquiao would be the flag bearer of the Philippines at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He became the first Filipino Olympic non-participant to be Team Philippines’ flag-bearer during the August 8 opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium. Swimmer Miguel Molina, 2005 Southeast Asian Games’ Best Male Athlete, yielded the honor to Pacquiao, upon Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's request to national sports officials on the Philippines at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Rematch with Márquez
Pacquiao fighting Juan Manuel Márquez in their second bout.On March 15, 2008, in a rematch against Juan Manuel Márquez called "Unfinished Business", Pacquiao won via a disputed split decision in a close, hard fought battle in which Pacquiao knocked Márquez down in round 3. Pacquiao won the WBC and The Ring Super Featherweight belts, making him the first Filipino to win three world titles in three different weight divisions (Pacquiao was a former WBC Flyweight champion and former IBF Super Bantamweight champion).

During the postfight interview, Márquez’s camp called for an immediate rematch. Richard Schaefer, GBP CEO, offered a $6-million guarantee to Pacquiao for a rematch. Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, still stinging from the less-than-stellar revenue from Kelly Pavlik’s immediate rematch with Jermain Taylor, said the fight will probably happen but only after there is time to “put a little air under it.” Pacquiao, for his part, said "I don't think so, this business is over" because he planned to move to lightweight (135 lbs) to challenge David Díaz, the reigning WBC Lightweight champion at that time. Díaz won the majority decision over Ramón Montano that night as an undercard of the "Unfinished Business" fight.

WBC Lightweight title
On June 28, 2008, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Pacquiao defeated David Díaz via ninth-round knockout to become the WBC Lightweight champion. With the victory, Pacquiao became the only Filipino and Asian boxer to win four major titles in four weight classes and also became the first Filipino fighter to ever win a world title at Lightweight. The fight ended at 2:23 of the ninth round and was viewed by 8,362 spectators. Bob Arum announced that Pacquiao is most likely to fight November 15 versus 130-lb Venezuelan champion Edwin Valero or Humberto Soto in Planet Hollywood, and he also mentioned the name of WBA, WBO, and IBF Lightweight champion Nate Campbell. "I can fight in November," Pacquiao stated, "Who I fight is the job of my promoter (Bob Arum)." Díaz had his best payday, $850,000, and Pacquiao earned at least $3 million.

Bob Arum reported that the Pacquiao-David Díaz fight which made $ 12.5-M (250,000 pay-per-view subscriptions at $ 49.95 each), paled in comparison to the 400,000 in the Márquez showdown. The sales reached over $20 million. Pacquiao’s 3 classic fights with Érik Morales earned a combined sales of 1 million pay-per-view hits. After HBO and Top Rank get their share, Pacquiao and Díaz will get theirs based on the contract, that is, in addition to the $ 3 million contract pay. Official records revealed an attendance of only 8,362 tickets of the seating capacity of 12,000.Meanwhile, WBC president Don José Sulaimán clarified that Pacquiao is not a 5-division but 4-division world champion, because the November 2003 Barrera fight was a non-title bout.Holding both the WBC Super Featherweight and Lightweight titles following the win, Pacquiao decided to vacate his Super Featherweight title in July 2008 in order to defend his Lightweight crown.

Pacquiao vs. De La Hoya
On December 6, 2008, Pacquiao faced Oscar De La Hoya at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, in a fight called Dream Match. Pacquiao asserted himself over De La Hoya from the first round till the eighth round. De La Hoya's corner threw in the towel before the start of the 9th round. Pacquiao won via technical knockout.

Presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank, Inc., the bout was scheduled as a 12-round, non-title fight contested at the 147-pound Welterweight limit. Although Pacquiao went into the fight widely recognized as the leading pound-for-pound boxer in the world, some boxing pundits had speculated that 147 pounds could be too far above his natural weight against the larger De La Hoya.Pacquiao received $15 to 30 million (share of the pay-per-view), plus a guaranteed amount.Tickets reportedly sold out just hours after they went on sale. The total gate revenues were said to be nearly $17 million dollars. That amount apparently gave the bout the second largest gate revenue in boxing history.

Pacquiao vs. Hatton
On May 2, 2009, Pacquiao fought Ricky Hatton for the IBO and Ring Magazine Light Welterweight titles at MGM Grand Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada.The fight was originally placed in jeopardy due to disputes with both camps over the fight purse money. Eventually, the money issue was settled and the fight went on as scheduled. HBO aired the contest.Pacquiao started the fight strong, knocking down a sluggish Hatton twice in the first round. At the bell, Hatton seemed to have re-grouped, only to get knocked down for the third time 2:59 into the second round, awarding Pacquiao the win by KO.

Pacquiao vs. Cotto
On November 14, Pacquiao is slated to face WBO welterweight champion Miguel Ángel Cotto of Puerto Rico, at the MGM Grand Las Vegas. Even before Ricky Hatton's fight against Paulie Malignaggi last year, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum stated his desire for Pacquiao to fight Cotto. Pacquiao then gave Arum the go signal to arrange the fight after Cotto won a hard-fought decision against Joshua Clottey at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Meanwhile, current WBA welterweight champion "Sugar" Shane Mosley tried to lure Pacquiao to fight him.[42] Mosley even offered Pacquiao for a fight at junior welterweight (140 pounds), Pacquiao's weight class as of the moment. However, after unsuccessful attempts, Mosley shifted his focus to a fight against WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto.Among the details that were agreed upon for the Pacquiao-Cotto fight were the weight (both camps agreed to the 145-pound catchweight) and the purse (Pacquiao will get the 60% share of PPV buys, as compared to Cotto's 35% share).As of the moment, it is still not clear whether Cotto's WBO welterweight belt will be at stake, although WBO has ranked Pacquiao as the #1 contender for Cotto's welterweight belt.

Politics
Pacquiao ran for a congressional seat to represent the 1st district of South Cotabato, but he was defeated by Darlene Antonino-Custodio. Custodio had 139,061 votes, whereas Pacquiao received 75,908 votes.

Pacquiao has said he will enter politics after he ends his boxing career. He quietly visited the Philippine Commission on Elections, escorted by Arnold "Ali" Atienza (son of then-Manila Mayor Lito Atienza), to transfer his residence from General Santos City to Manila. This fueled speculations that he may seek an elective post in the nation's capital, which even gave him the title "Adopted Son" after he won his earlier bouts.

His name was once mentioned as a possible vice-mayoralty candidate to the younger Atienza when the latter sought the city's highest post in the 2007 elections, but this did not pan out after Sen. Panfilo Lacson, then the leading candidate for Manila mayor, backed out for contentions regarding Lacson's residency issues (in which Pacquiao also had such issues).

Being known as an Arroyo supporter, his name is also being floated as a candidate of the Lakas-CMD party for the mayoralty race of General Santos City against incumbent Mayor Pedro Acharon. Instead, he was recently sworn-in as a member of the Liberal Party under the Atienza wing, thus further fueling his political ambition.

On February 12, 2007, the famed boxer announced that he was running for congress representing South Cotabato.[49] His decision however easily turned off both his fans and the general public. Election experts stressed that as Pacquiao insists on participating in his next professional boxing match, he will immerse himself into a legal conflict regarding campaign exposure, especially since the match will be televised nationwide. Aside from that, COMELEC commissioner Benjamin Abalos mentioned a possible legal entanglement could ruin Pacquiao's candidacy because he already registered himself as a Manila resident months before.

Numerous sports personalities and analysts around the Philippines expressed that Pacquiao should think seriously and deeply about his sports career, which could potentially be destroyed by the dirty world of politics. On February 24, 2007, in Cebu City, Pacquiao was booed by thousands of spectators as his presence was acknowledged by the organizers of The Battle of Cebu, a WBO-sanctioned boxing festival. The embarrassment later led to confusing statements made by then-Manila Mayor Lito Atienza that the famed fighter would withdraw. The negative sentiment among Cebuanos over Pacquiao's political aspiration was felt even before the "The Battle of Cebu" was held because at least one citizen's comment got published by local newspaper Sun Star.

In relation to the Pacquiao's April 14 fight with Jorge Solis, the political opposition stated that they would not press for a ban on the broadcasting of the match despite its potential to violate election campaign rules. Although he won over Solis, Pacquiao's appeal diminished most likely due to his political ambition. His last fight attracted noticeably smaller audiences, and his performance was considered by many as disappointing. Some election candidates even turned the Pacquiao-Solis match into campaign gigs. Over at General Santos City, Diocese of Marbel spokesman Fr. Angel Buenavides considered President Arroyo's endorsement of Pacquiao as a "curse" because constituents in the area have strong anti-Arroyo sentiments.

On May 17, 2007, Pacquiao suffered a lopsided election defeat to incumbent representative Darlene Antonino-Custodio, with a deficit of approximately 37,000 votes according to the NAMFREL tally. Meanwhile, WBC head José Sulaimán stated that Pacquiao "doesn’t appear to be having the same dynamic impact at the ballot box, as he does in the ringed square." The defeat became a depressing matter for the boxer himself because he lost a huge sum of money when his supporters allegedly funneled campaign funds to their own pockets. Pacquiao's personal money was part of the campaign budget.[64] Ironically, Pacquiao's fans rejoiced over his defeat. Some even declared his loss as a "victory" for boxing. On May 20, 2007, Manny Pacquiao formally conceded to congresswoman Antonino-Custodio, vowing to return to boxing and spend more time with his family.

In August 2007, Pacquiao filed a P30-million libel suit against four journalists of the Manila Bulletin due to an article which stated that he "is reported to be a compulsive gambler and is known to bet hundreds of thousand in casinos, cockfighting, and billiards." The case was later dismissed via "affidavit of desistance", and Pacquiao stated that pursuing the case would only cause inconvenience to him and his family.

On September 1, 2008, Pacquiao was sworn by Secretary Ronaldo Puno, as member of Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi). Pacquiao officially announced that he is retiring in August 2009, and will be running again in the Philippine general election, 2010.


In popular culture
A film based on Pacquiao's life, Pacquiao: The Movie, was released on June 21, 2006, featuring Filipino actor Jericho Rosales as Manny Pacquiao and was directed by Joel Lamangan. The film flopped at the box office, grossing a total of only P4,812,191 (approximately US$99,322), as confirmed by Lamangan. In 2008, Pacquiao starred with Ara Mina and Valerie Concepcion in his latest action movie titled "Anak ng Kumander". The movie was not a commercial success and was panned by critics.

Pacquiao is featured in the boxing video games Fight Night Round 2, Fight Night Round 3 and Fight Night Round 4. EA Sports released a limited edition demo of Fight Night Round 4, featuring Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton prior to their May 2 fight.

He became the first Filipino athlete to appear on a postage stamp.

With his popularity, various business sectors have solicited Manny Pacquiao's help in endorsing their products through commercial advertisements in print and in broadcast media. These include detergents, medicines, foods, garments, telecommunications, and even a political ad for Chavit Singson during the May 14, 2007 elections. His most acclaimed commercials yet were for Nike's "Fast Forward" campaign (along side Kobe Bryant, Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer, Cristiano Ronaldo and Liu Xiang) and for San Miguel Beer with Jet Li and Érik Morales.

On April 12, 2007, the COMELEC canceled his commercial appearances in accordance with existing Philippine election laws. Airing of the commercials resumed after the elections.

Upon the expiration of his contract with ABS-CBN, he signed up with GMA Network as an actor on September 2007. On December 17, 2007, after finishing a movie, Pacquiao went to the GMA Network to tape his first episode of Pinoy Records.

Pacquiao briefly starred for the TV series by GMA, Carlo J. Caparas' Totoy Bato, alongside fellow actors Robin Padilla and Regine Velasquez. It was first aired in February 2009.

Pacquiao and American actor Sylvester Stallone are in plans of doing a movie. Stallone has stated interest in doing a movie with Pacquiao, who he said will be his co-star in the movie. Stallone, being a Pacquiao fan, showed interest. If the script passes and both sides agree, the film will be Pacquiao's big break to the American audience and American main stream. Plans were only confirmed and interest, thus the script is in works and confirmation as well of both sides agreements of the plot and characters are still not confirmed.

Pacquiao was also mentioned by World Wrestling Entertainment's ECW on Syfy color commentator Matt Striker in reference to Christian's tag team match with Tommy Dreamer vs. Jack Swagger and Mark Henry. Striker compares Christian's left and right punches like the speed of Pacquiao's fists.

Pacquiao has been included by Time Magazine as one of the world's most influential people for the year 2009, for his exploits in boxing and his influence among the Filipino people. Pacquiao was also included by Forbes Magazine in its annual Celebrity 100 list for the year 2009, joining Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie and fellow athletes Tiger Woods and Bryant. Forbes also listed Pacquiao as world's 6th highest-paid athlete, with a total of $40 million from second half of 2008 to first half of 2009. The athletes who ranked ahead of Pacquiao were Woods at number 1 spot ($110 million); Bryant, basketball legend Michael Jordan, and Formula One star Kimi Räikkönen sharing the number 2 rank ($45 million each); and football superstar David Beckham at number 5 ($42 million). Pacquiao had also won the 2009 ESPY Awards for the Best Fighter category, beating fellow boxer Shane Mosley and Brazilian mixed martial arts fighter Lyoto Machida.