"THE GREATEST"
MUHAMMAD ALI
Manny Pacquiao vs "Sugar" Shane Mosley WBO welterweight title official on-site 39 page programme, 7th May 2011, MGM Grand, Las Vegas.
Condition mint
Pacquiao W unanimous decision
Pacquiao successfully defended his WBO World Welterweight title against three-division world champion Shane Mosley via lopsided unanimous decision. Rapper LL Cool J performed as Mosley entered first the arena, while vocalist Jimi Jamison of the rock band Survivor sang Eye of the Tiger as Pacquiao approached the ring. Pacquiao knocked Mosley down in the third round using a one-two capped with a left straight. Mosley was left dazed by the knock down but managed to stand up.
Mosley floored Pacquiao in the tenth round with a push, but referee Kenny Bayless inexplicably ruled it a knockdown. None of the judges seemed to have bought it judging from the scores. Replays showed that Pacquiao was throwing a punch off balance, slipped and went down with a little help from Mosley's right hand. Bayless apologized to Pacquiao after the fight for the mistake. Pacquiao gained one-sided verdicts from all three judges - 119-108, 120-108 and 120-107. Pacquiao reported that the only thing preventing him from knocking out Mosley was a cramp in his legs. Freddie Roach said that Pacquio had problems with cramping before but usually in training sessions and not in the middle of bouts.
Price: £35
Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao born December 17, 1978), more commonly known as Manny Pacquiao, is a Filipino. He is the only septuple (seven weight) world champion in boxing history. At present, Pacquiao fights in the welterweight division.
He is currently the WBO welterweight world champion, IBO and Ring Magazine light welterweight champion, and is rated by Ring Magazine as the #1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world.
He is also the former WBC lightweight world champion, WBC super featherweight world champion, IBF super bantamweight world champion, and WBC flyweight world champion. Furthermore, he is the former Ring Magazine featherweight and super featherweight champion.
The Filipino boxing superstar is the first boxer to win seven world titles in seven different weight divisions. In addition, he is the only boxer to win the lineal championship ("the man who beat the man") in four different weight classes. Aside from being a boxer, Pacquiao has participated in politics, acting, filmmaking, and music recording.
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. Pacquiao received only an elementary school education. Recently, he took a high school equivalency exam, which he passed. He is also a military reservist with the rank of sergeant major.
Boxing Career - Early Career
Pacquiao started his professional boxing career at the age of 16 at 106 pounds (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 four 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 pounds, before losing in his twelfth bout against Rustico Torrecampo via a third round knockout. Pacquiao had not made the weight, so he was forced to use heavier gloves than Torrecampo, thereby putting him at a disadvantage.
Shortly after the Torrecampo fight, Pacquiao settled at 112 pounds, winning the WBC flyweight world title (his first major boxing world title as well as the flyweight lineal title) over Chatchai Sasakul by way of knockout in the eighth round. However, Pacquiao lost the title in his second defence against Medgoen Singsurat, also known as Medgoen 3K Battery, via a third round knockout. The bout was held in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. Technically, Pacquiao lost the belt at the scales, as he surpassed the weight limit of 112 pounds.
Following his loss to Singsurat, Pacquiao gained weight anew. This time, Pacquiao went to the super bantamweight division of 122 pounds, where he picked up the WBC International super bantamweight title. He defended this title five times before his chance for a world title fight came.
Pacquiao's big break came on June 23, 2001, against former IBF super bantamweight world champion Lehlohonolo Ledwaba. Pacquiao stepped into the fight as a late replacement and won the fight by technical knockout to become the new IBF super bantamweight world champion (his second major boxing world title). The bout was held at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, in Las Vegas, Nevada. He defended this title five times and fought to a six round draw against Agapito Sánchez, in a bout that was stopped early after Pacquiao received two headbutts.
First Fight With Barrera
Pacquiao with his trainer Freddie Roach at Pacquiao's Christmas and birthday bash, Los Angeles, California 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 TKO in the eleventh round at the Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas. Although this fight was not recognized as a title fight by any sanctioning bodies, after his victory Pacquiao was crowned Ring Magazine featherweight champion (as well as the lineal featherweight champion), and he held that title until relinquishing it in 2005.
First Fight With Márquez
Only six months after Pacquiao's win over Mexican legend Barrera, Pacquiao went on to challenge another highly respected Mexican boxer in Juan Manuel Márquez, who at the time held both the WBA and IBF featherweight world titles. The fight took place at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, on May 8, 2004, and after twelve rounds the bout was scored a draw, which proved to be a controversial decision that outraged both camps.
In the first round Márquez was caught cold, as he was knocked down three times by a more lively Pacquiao. However, Márquez showed great heart to recover from the early knockdowns, and went on to win the majority of rounds thereafter. This was largely due to Márquez's counterpunch style, which he managed to effectively utilize against the aggressive style of Pacquiao. At the end of a very close fight, the final scores were 115–110 for Márquez, 115–110 for Pacquiao, and 113–113. One of the judges (who scored the bout 113–113) later admitted to making an error on the scorecards, because he had scored the first round as "10–7" in favor of Pacquiao instead of the standard "10–6" for a three-knockdown round. Consequently, both parties felt they had done enough to win the fight.
First Fight With Morales
Pacquiao once again moved up in weight class, from 126 to 130 pounds, to fight another Mexican legend, three division world champion Érik Morales. The fight took place on March 19, 2005, at the MGM Grand Las Vegas. However, this time around, in his first fight at super featherweight, Pacquiao lost the twelve 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 six 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.
Second Fight With Morales
The much anticipated rematch between Pacquiao and Morales happened on January 21, 2006, at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. During the fight, Morales escaped being knocked down twice, once during the second round by holding onto the ropes, and once in the sixth round by falling on the referee's body. Pacquiao eventually knocked Morales out in the tenth round, which was the first time Morales had been knocked out 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 twelve round bout for the WBC International super featherweight title held at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines.
Third Fight With Morales
Pacquiao and Morales fought for a third time (with the series tied 1-1) 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 rubber match, Bob Arum, Pacquiao's main promoter, announced that Manny had returned his signing bonus check back to Golden Boy Promotions, signaling intentions to stay with Top Rank. This resulted in Golden Boy Promotion'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.
Rematch With Barrera
On June 29, 2007, it was announced that Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions agreed to settle their lawsuit, meaning the long-awaited rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera would occur despite being the #1 contender for the super featherweight title of Juan Manuel Márquez.
Since Bob Arum was out on a vacation, Golden Boy Promotion'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 and Casino in Las Vegas). However, Pacquiao was likely to get a purse of 5 million dollars, plus possibly a share of the pay-per-view rights. Pacquiao defeated Barrera in their rematch via an easy unanimous decision. In the eleventh 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 pounds). 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
On March 15, 2008, in a rematch against Juan Manuel Márquez called "Unfinished Business", Pacquiao won via a disputed split decision. The fight was held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. With victory, Pacquiao won the WBC and Ring Magazine super featherweight belts (as well as the lineal junior lightweight title), making him the first Filipino to win three major world titles in three different weight divisions (Pacquiao was a former WBC flyweight champion and former IBF super bantamweight champion). However, with his Ring Magazine featherweight belt, Pacquiao had de facto won four world titles in four different weight classes at this point.
The fight was a close hard fought battle, during which both fighters received cuts. Throughout the fight Márquez landed the most punches at a higher percentage; however, the decisive factor proved to be a third round knockdown, wherein Márquez was floored by a Pacquiao left hook. At the end of the fight, the judges scores were 115-112 for Pacquiao, 115-112 for Márquez, and 114-113 for Pacquiao.
In the post-fight press conference, Márquez’s camp called for an immediate rematch. In addition, Richard Schaefer, Golden Boy Promotions CEO, offered a 6 million dollar guarantee to Pacquiao for a rematch. However, Pacquiao ruled out a third clash with Márquez, stating: "I don't think so. This business is over." The reason that Pacquiao did not want a rematch was because he intended to move up to the lightweight division, in order to challenge David Díaz, the reigning WBC lightweight world 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 and Casino in Las Vegas, Pacquiao defeated David Díaz via ninth round knockout, to become the WBC lightweight world champion. With the victory, Pacquiao became the only Filipino and Asian boxer to win five world titles in five different weight classes, and also became the first Filipino fighter to ever win a world title at lightweight. In a largely one-sided fight, Pacquiao displayed the superior hand speed and punching power. After the bout, Diaz stated: "It was his speed. It was all his speed. I could see the punches perfectly, but he was just too fast.
Bob Arum reported that the fight had made 12.5 million dollars (250,000 pay-per-view subscriptions at $49.95 each), earning Díaz his best payday of 850,000 dollars, whilst Pacquiao earned at least 3 million dollar. Official records revealed an attendance of 8,362 (out of a maximum capacity of 12,000).
Holding both the WBC super featherweight and lightweight titles following the win, Pacquiao decided to vacate his super featherweight title in July 2008.
Pacquiao vs. Oscar De La Hoya
On December 6, 2008, Pacquiao faced Oscar De La Hoya at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, in a fight called "The Dream Match". Pacquiao dominated the fight for eight rounds, forcing De La Hoya's corner to throw in the towel before the start of the ninth round, awarding Pacquiao the win via technical knockout. Pacquiao was ahead on all three judges' scorecards before the stoppage, with two judges scoring the fight at 80-71 and one scoring it at 79-72. Moreover, Pacquiao landed 224 out of 585 punches, whilst De La Hoya landed only 83 out of 402 punches. After the bout, trainer Freddie Roach stated: "We knew we had him after the first round. He had no legs, he was hesitant and he was shot." The fight would be De La Hoya's last, as he announced his retirement from boxing shortly after.
Presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank, Inc., the bout was scheduled as a twelve 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 dollars (share of the pay-per-view), plus a guaranteed amount.
Tickets reportedly sold out just hours after they went on sale. Moreover, the total gate revenue for the fight was said to be nearly 17 million dollars, making it the second largest gate revenue in boxing history.
Pacquiao vs. Hatton
On May 2, 2009, Pacquiao defeated Ricky Hatton to claim the IBO and Ring Magazine light welterweight titles (as well as the lineal light welterweight title), at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, in a fight billed as "The Battle of the East and West".
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. A somewhat shaken Hatton beat the count, only to be saved by the bell seconds later. In the second round Hatton seemed to have recovered, as he stalked Pacquiao for most of the round. However, with less than ten seconds remaining in the second round, Hatton was knocked out cold by a sharp left hook, prompting the referee to award Pacquiao the win by KO (at 2:59 of the round).
Pacquiao vs. Cotto
On November 14, 2009, Pacquiao defeated former WBO welterweight world champion Miguel Cotto, by technical knockout in the twelfth round, at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, in a fight billed as "Firepower". The fight was sanctioned as a world title fight in the welterweight division, where the weight limit is 147 pounds, however Cotto's camp agreed to fight at a catchweight of 145 pounds to accommodate Pacquiao's smaller physique. Cotto's camp also conceded the larger share of the purse to Pacquiao, who received a 65% share of pay-per-view buys, compared to Cotto's 35% share.
In the opening round Cotto appeared to have the edge, as he connected with solid jabs and managed to pin Pacquiao against the ropes. However, Pacquiao later admitted that he had allowed this to happen, as he wanted to test Cotto's power. From the second round onwards Pacquiao picked up the pace, knocking Cotto down in the third and fourth round, and going on to dominate the later rounds. After a heavily one-sided ninth round in favour of Pacquiao, wherein Cotto received significant punishment, many people thought that Cotto's corner should have stopped the fight. Cotto's wife even left the arena. However, Cotto decided to continue the fight, but could not evade Pacquiao's onslaught, prompting the referee to stop the fight fifty-five seconds into the twelfth round.
With this victory, Pacquiao took the WBO welterweight title, his seventh world championship, and became the first boxer in history to win seven world titles in seven different weight divisions. After the fight, promoter Bob Arum stated that: "Pacquiao is the greatest boxer I've ever seen, and I've seen them all, including Ali, Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard."
The fight generated 1.25 million buys and 70 million dollars in domestic pay-per-view revenue (preliminary figures), making it the most watched boxing match of 2009.
Following Pacquiao's victory against Cotto, there was much public demand for a fight between Pacquiao (the number 1 pound-for-pound boxer) and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (the number 2 pound-for-pound boxer). Pacquiao reportedly agreed to fight Mayweather on March 13, 2010, for a split of $50 million up front. And it was later agreed that the venue for the fight would be the MGM Grand Las Vegas. However, the bout was put in jeopardy due to disagreements about Olympic-style drug testing. The Mayweather camp wanted random blood testing by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, whereas Pacquiao refused to have any blood testing within 30 days from the fight, because he thought it would weaken him, but he was willing to have blood taken from him before the 30-day window as well as immediately after the fight. Freddie Roach, on the other hand, commented that he would allow blood to be taken from Pacquiao one week before the fight. In an attempt to resolve their differences, the two camps went through a process of mediation before a retired judge. After the mediation process Mayweather agreed to a 14-day no blood testing window, however, Pacquiao refused and instead only agreed to a 24-day no blood testing window. Consequently, on January 7, 2010, Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum declared that the fight was officially off.
As a result of Pacquiao's reluctance to submit to random blood testing, which is not required by the rules of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, some people questioned whether he was using performance-enhancing drugs. The Mayweather camp had repeatedly suggested Pacquiao was using banned substances throughout the negotiations, which resulted in Pacquiao filing a lawsuit for defamation, seeking damages in excess of 75,000 dollars. The lawsuit cited accusations made by Mayweather, Floyd Mayweather Sr, Roger Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya, and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer. The lawsuit claimed that the damaging and unfounded accusations were made out of "ill-will, spite, malice, revenge, and envy." Pacquiao stated: "I maintain and assure everyone that I have not used any form or kind of steroids and that my way to the top is a result of hard work, hard work, hard work and a lot of blood spilled from my past battles in the ring, not outside of it."
Manny Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey
After negotiations for the Mayweather fight fell through, other boxers were considered to replace Mayweather as the next opponent for Pacquiao, including former light welterweight champion Paul Malignaggi and current WBA super welterweight champion Yuri Foreman. However, Pacquiao chose to fight Joshua Clottey instead, a tough boxer from Ghana and the former IBF welterweight champion. The Pacquiao–Clottey fight was held on March 13, 2010, at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, outside the city of Dallas, Texas, with Pacquiao's WBO welterweight belt at stake. Pacquiao won the fight by unanimous decision.
Light Middleweight Division
Pacquiao vs Margarito
On July 23, 2010, Bob Arum announced that Pacquiao would fight Antonio Margarito on November 13, 2010. The fight for the vacant WBC Super Welterweight World Title gave Pacquiao the chance to win a world title in his eighth weight class, the light middleweight or super welterweight division. A catchweight of 150 pounds was established for the fight although the weight limit for the light middleweight division is 154 pounds. During the pre-fight, Pacquiao weighed in at a low 144.6 pounds, while Margarito weighed in at the limit of 150 pounds. Pacquiao said he was pleased with his weight because he loses too much speed when he gains pounds. During the fight itself, Pacquiao weighed 148 lbs, 17 pounds lighter than Margarito's 165.
Prior to the fight, Pacquiao's team demanded to the Texas officials to test Margarito for banned substances after a weight loss supplement, reportedly Hydroxycut, was found in his locker. It was stated that the officials would undergo testing for both boxers after the fight. In the fight, Pacquiao defeated Margarito via unanimous decision, using his superior handspeed and movement to win his 8th world title in as many divisions. In the penultimate round, Pacquiao implored referee Laurence Cole several times to stop the fight as Margarito had a swollen face and a large cut beneath the right eye, but the referee let the fight continue. Margarito had to be taken directly to the hospital after the fight, where it was discovered his orbital bone had been fractured; he had to undergo surgery.
Return to Welterweight Division
On May 7, 2011, Pacquiao successfully defended his WBO World Welterweight title against three-division world champion Shane Mosley via lopsided unanimous decision at the MGM Grand Arena. Rapper LL Cool J performed as Mosley entered first the arena, while vocalist Jimi Jamison of the rock band Survivor sang Eye of the Tiger as Pacquiao approached the ring. Pacquiao knocked Mosley down in the third round using a one-two capped with a left straight. Mosley was left dazed by the knock down but managed to stand up.
Mosley floored Pacquiao in the tenth round with a push, but referee Kenny Bayless inexplicably ruled it a knockdown. None of the judges seemed to have bought it judging from the scores. Replays showed that Pacquiao was throwing a punch off balance, slipped and went down with a little help from Mosley's right hand. Bayless apologized to Pacquiao after the fight for the mistake. Pacquiao gained one-sided verdicts from all three judges - 119-108, 120-108 and 120-107. Pacquiao reported that the only thing preventing him from knocking out Mosley was a cramp in his legs. Freddie Roach said that Pacquio had problems with cramping before but usually in training sessions and not in the middle of bouts.
Political Career
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. 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. 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 stars in an upcoming superhero/comedy film entitled Wapakman. Although it is set to be released during the 2009 Metro Manila Film Festival, the film faces a risk of being banned from the event due to a COMELEC ruling that prohibits political candidates (Pacquiao is bent on running for a congressional seat in Sarangani in 2010) from appearing on movies.
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 the world's sixth highest-paid athlete, with a total of $40 million from the second half of 2008 to the 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.
Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971) from Pomona, California. He has won world titles in three weight divisions, and is the former WBA Welterweight Super Champion.
Amateur Career
Mosley was an amateur standout, capturing various amateur titles, including:
•1989 United States Amateur Champion at Lightweight 132 lb (60 kg)
•1989 World Junior Championships Silver Medalist in San Juan (PUR) 132 lb (60 kg)
•1990 United States Amateur Champion at Lightweight 132 lb (60 kg)
•1990 Goodwill Games Bronze Medalist in Seattle (USA) 132 lb (60 kg)
•1992 United States Amateur Champion at Light Welterweight 139 lb (63 kg) he also had an amateur record of 96-3
Professional Career
Undefeated Lightweight Champion
Sugar Shane started his pro career in 1993, By 2000 he had fought 34 times amassing a 34–0 (32) record, beating undefeated Phillip Holiday to win the IBF Lightweight title. He made 9 title defences with all inside the distance, but never unified belts. Mosley relinquished his lightweight title to move up 2 divisions, facing Oscar De La Hoya for his Welterweight title.
De La Hoya vs. Sugar Shane Mosley
On June 17, 2000, Mosley met De La Hoya in Los Angeles for the WBC and IBA Welterweight titles. After twelve rounds, Mosley emerged with a split decision victory. During the fight neither man was in danger of going down, but both had badly swollen faces at the end and De La Hoya was bleeding from the nose for several rounds. Mosley earned a minimum of $15 million, while De La Hoya was guaranteed $35 million. It was later that Mosley was accused of using illegal performance enhancing drugs prior to his 2003 bout with Oscar De La Hoya.
Mosley vs. Vernon Forrest I & II
He ran a successful string of defences of his Welterweight title (he vacated his title after the fight), but against three unheralded fighters. When he finally did step up his competition, it was against former Olympian Vernon Forrest. Early in the second round, the fighters clashed heads and both staggered backward as referee Steve Smoger called time. Mosley sustained a cut on the hairline. When action resumed, Forrest knocked Mosley down twice in the round. It was the first time Mosley had ever been down in a bout. The final scorecards read 115-110, 117-108, 118-108, in favor of Forrest.
They had a rematch six months later at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indiana, and Mosley once again lost by a unanimous decision.
Bouncing Back After Forrest
On February 8, 2003, Mosley's bout with former IBF world Light Middleweight champion Raúl Márquez ended in a no contest when Mosley accidentally head butted Marquez twice in round three, which caused two very bad cuts above the eyes of Marquez.
He and De La Hoya faced each other for the second time on September 13, this time with De La Hoya's WBC and WBA Light Middleweight belts on the line. Mosley defeated De La Hoya by a close 12 round unanimous decision, and joined the exclusive group of world boxing champions that have reigned in three or more divisions. Mosley testified in 2003 that he injected himself with the notorious doping agent EPO as he prepared for his Light Middleweight title fight against Oscar De La Hoya, according to grand jury transcripts and doping calendars.
Mosley vs. Wright I & II
On March 13, 2004, Mosley lost his WBC and WBA world Light Middleweight titles in a unification bout with IBF Jr. Middleweight champion Winky Wright, by a unanimous twelve-round decision.
On November 20, Mosley and Wright fought their rematch, and although it was scored much closer by the three judges (115-113 twice for Wright and a 114-114 tie), Mosley lost by a twelve-round majority decision.
Mosley Vs. Vargas I & II
On September 17, he beat another previously undefeated fighter, Jose Luis Cruz, by a ten-round decision.
Mosley then defeated Fernando Vargas on February 25, 2006 by TKO in the tenth round at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, due to a massive swelling which closed Fernando's left eye. At the time of the stoppage, Mosley was winning on two scorecards 86-85, while Vargas held an 86-85 advantage on the other scorecard. A rematch was announced almost immediately.
Mosley defeated Fernando Vargas in the rematch on July 15, 2006. Mosley dominated Vargas from start to finish, eventually ending the fight via a sixth-round TKO.
Shane defeated Luis Collazo on February 11, 2007, with a unanimous decision after 12 rounds, knocking Collazo down once, to capture the WBC interim Welterweight title.
Fight With Miguel Cotto
Mosley and undefeated WBA welterweight Champion Miguel Cotto met on Nov. 10, 2007, at Madison Square Garden in a fight broadcasted on HBO Pay-Per-View. Cotto beat Mosley in a close fight. Soon after that match, Mosley was scheduled to face Zab Judah in a Welterweight bout in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 31. Due to an arm injury suffered by Judah, the fight was cancelled.
Mosley vs Mayorga
Mosley-Mayorga was originally scheduled for Oct. 11 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer and Mosley's wife and advisor, Jin Mosley, told ESPN.com.
On July 18, 2008, it was reported on ESPN.com's quick hits that The fight between Mayorga and Mosley was moved to the Home Depot Center in Carson, California and set for September 27 because of the Pavlik-Hopkins fight agreement for October 18 on HBO PPV. And the good news for fight fans was that the Mayorga-Mosley bout was not to be on HBO PPV, instead it was shown on HBO at no cost.
Shane Mosley Stopped Ricardo Mayorga with one second left in the 12th round of their junior middleweight bout, Mosley led by one point on judge Nelson Vasquez's scorecard and five on Tony Crebs' entering the 12th round. Mayorga had a one point lead on judge Pat Russell's card. The Associated Press had "Sugar" Shane Mosley ahead by three points entering the 12th.
Mosley vs Margarito
Prior to one of the biggest fights of his career, Mosley began training with Naazim Richardson. Mosley regained the WBA Welterweight "Super" championship from Antonio Margarito on January 24, 2009 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Mosley, now 37 years old, came in to the fight as a 4-1 underdog with the bookies after Margarito had spectacularly stopped Cotto 6 months earlier. Prior to the bout nobody gave Mosley a chance of prevailing- everybody believing that Margarito was too strong and that Mosley was too old. The conventional wisdom was that this was a mismatch, which would end in a brutal retirement-forcing stoppage for Sugar Shane. A comparison of their last fights- the aforementioned destruction of Cotto by Margarito and a last-gasp knockout by Mosley in a hard twelve round struggle against Mayorga- did not bode well for Sugar Shane. Some predicted a massacre. And it was - only it was Margarito that was ruthlessly clubbed about the ring, unable to land any meaningful shots.
Mosley eventually TKO'd Margarito in the ninth round, after appearing to win every round up until then, in a massive upset. Sugar Shane utterly dominated Margarito, using his superior hand speed, pinpoint accuracy, consistent body punching, countless huge right hands to the jaw, and tying up whenever Margarito backed him into the ropes, to wear Margarito down and stop him, something that many seasoned boxing observers thought was nigh-on impossible. After knocking him down with a series of heavy overhand rights at the end of the eighth round, Margarito was unable to avoid punches during a heavy barrage from Mosley early on in the ninth, forcing the referee to step in as Margarito slumped to the canvas a second time.
Margarito had never previously been stopped. It was a sensational win for Sugar Shane and propelled him back to the top of the tree in the welterweight division.
The fight was marred in a controversy after Mosley's trainer diligently spotted an illegal plaster accessory being added to Margarito's hand wraps, which had to be redone three times before the commission's officials were satisfied.
On 1 May 2010 Mosley fought undefeated Floyd Mayweather. Boxing purists had called for the fight for over ten years. On the night Mosley stunned Mayweather with two right-hand shots in the second round. Mayweather recovered well and dominated the remainder of the fight with superior hand speed, eventually winning a wide decision on the scorecards to hand Mosley the sixth defeat of his professional career.
On May 22, 2010 Shane Mosley was stripped of his WBA "Super" Welterweight Title, which in turn made "Regular" champion Vyacheslav Senchenko the sole WBA titlist in the welterweight division.
Mora-Mosley
Mosley fought Sergio Mora on September 18 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The bout ended up in a split draw. Scores (Mora 115–113, Mosley 116–112, 114–114). On whether he would like to have a rematch with Mora or whether he will move on and put it behind him:
“Actually, there’s no need for a rematch. It was a fight. I took it. It wasn’t crowd pleasing and I don’t want to be in a fight like that again. That’s the type of fight that I don’t want to be in. There are a lot of great fights out there. There’s Cotto. You know all these mover type of guys, I’m not sure whether I should stay away from them if I could. You know the guys who like to move around a lot and try to outbox you, and it’s good to box but I want to be in a fight where I’m in a real fight, like the Miguel Cottos, the Pacquiaos, and the Margaritos. Sergio Martinez, he’s a mover. He likes to box so it could be an ugly fight. He’s a real mover and he’s a big mover. So these moving types of fighters, I don’t know that that’s well suited for me. I don’t like to put that on the fans with those types of fights. So we’ll see what happens.”
Mosley vs Pacquiao
On May 7, 2011, Mosley lost the fight to Manny Pacquiao for the welterweight title on the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Due to Mosley's defeat, Pacquiao may be looking at a November matchup against either Floyd Mayweather, Victor Ortiz or a third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez.
Steroid Use In 2003
Although Mosley has always publicly maintained that he was unaware that steroids were involved, he was one of the athletes using the services of BALCO Labs, along with many other professional and Olympic athletes. Jeff Novitzky, a lead investigator on the BALCO case, reported that documents seized from the lab show that Mosley received "the clear" and "the cream", both designer steroids. Mosley reportedly began his doping regimen prior to his 2003 bout with Oscar De La Hoya, a match that he won due in part to his strong performance in the later rounds of the fight.
Victor Conte, the founder of BALCO, has since accused Mosley of knowingly taking performance enhancing drugs. He told the Los Angeles Times that Shane Mosley knew "exactly and precisely what he was doing" when he utilized BALCO's services. Mosley maintains that he believed the products he was using from BALCO were legal vitamins and is suing Conte for libel. In May 2008, Mosley's former trainer, Derryl Hudson, supported Conte's allegations against Mosley. In a declaration that was used in Conte's motion to have the lawsuit dismissed, Hudson wrote, "I know that Mr. Mosley was aware that the performance-enhancing drugs provided to him by Mr. Conte were banned drugs because I discussed that fact with Mr. Mosley both during and after our visit to BALCO".
In 2003, Mosley told a grand jury that he injected himself with the doping agent EPO as he prepared for a fight against Oscar De La Hoya, according to court transcripts and doping calendars reviewed by the New York Daily News. The transcript of the boxer's testimony was part of a BALCO file that was under a protective order before U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston decided in November 2008 to allow prosecutors to share thousands of documents with Barry Bonds lawyers.
In April 2010, Conte released portions of an October 2009 video deposition, in which Mosley admits to knowingly using the banned endurance booster EPO. After viewing the video, Mosley's attorney, Judd Burstein, said the comments were "taken out of context,", however, he added that Mosley had "always admitted to knowingly using EPO,", a statement which seemingly contradicted Mosley's prior public claim that Conte had misled him about the legality of the products provided by BALCO. In November 2010, Mosley dropped his defamation lawsuit against Conte.
Personal Life
His ex-wife Jin Mosley is a Korean American who was born and raised in New York. Therefore, he would always attach the Taegukgi, which is the flag of South Korea to his trunks when he fought. They have three children together, Najee Jamarr, Taiseki Justin and Mee-Yon Jinae. Shane also has one other child Shane Jr., who is following in his father's footsteps and training to be a boxer as well. It was announced on HBO, minutes before his fight with Margarito, that he and Jin had separated. Later, it was revealed that she had filed for divorce.
In 2010, Mosley teamed up with PETA to protest dog fighting and to protest the seal fur trade in Canada.