This past September, 2014 in the days following the Pacman Cup 10-Ball Championship, I finally negotiated a few minutes with super busy Manny to sit down and discuss the sport and what the future holds for billiards/pool. This was after he got spa treatment following an intense early training camp session for his upcoming fight against Chris Algiri on November 22, 2014 in Macau.
Pacman Bio:
Emmanuel “Manny” Dapidran Pacquiao, PLH (/?pæki.a?/ pak-ee-ow; Tagalog: [p?k?ja?];[5] born December 17, 1978) is a Filipino professional boxer, politician, actor, and singer. He is the first and only eight-division world champion,[6] in which he has won ten world titles, as well as the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes.[7]According to Forbes, he was the 14th highest paid athlete in the world as of 2013.[8]
He was named “Fighter of the Decade” for the 2000s (decade) by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA),World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Organization (WBO). He is also a three-time The Ring and BWAA “Fighter of the Year,” winning the award in 2006, 2008 and 2009, and the Best Fighter ESPY Award in 2009 and 2011.[9]
He is the current WBO welterweight champion[10] and is currently ranked number four on The Ring pound-for-pound list.[11]
He was long rated as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world by some sporting news and boxing websites, including ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Sporting Life, Yahoo! Sports, About.com, BoxRec and The Ring from his climb toLightweight until his losses in 2012.[12][13]
Beyond boxing, Pacquiao has participated in basketball, business, acting, music recording and politics. In May 2010, Pacquiao was elected to the House of Representatives in the 15th Congress of the Philippines, representing the province of Sarangani. He was re-elected in 2013 to the 16th Congress of the Philippines.,[14]
| Real name | Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Pac-Man, Ang Pambansang Kamao (The Nation’s Fist), The Mexicutioner The Destroyer, Fighting Pride of the Philippines, Pambansang Ninong (National Godfather),[1] The Fighting Congressman[citation needed] The Filipino Slugger[2] |
| Rated at | Flyweight Super Bantamweight Featherweight Super Featherweight Lightweight Light Welterweight Welterweight Light Middleweight |
| Height | 5 ft 6 1?2 in (169 cm)[3] |
| Reach | 67 in (170 cm) |
| Nationality | Filipino |
| Born | December 17, 1978 (age 35) Kibawe, Bukidnon, Philippines |
| Stance | Southpaw[4] |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 63 |
| Wins | 56 |
| Wins by KO | 38 |
| Losses | 5 |
| Draws | 2 |
| No contests | 0 |
Pacquiao, while mostly focussed on being a boxer and a congressman, is listed as the head coach of the basketball team Kia Sorentos. At 36, he also played 7 minutes of one of the team’s games and is thus a professional basketball player. He was drafted onto the team that he coaches as 11th overall on the first round of the 2014 PBA draft by theKia Sorentos, making him as the oldest rookie drafted,[15] as well as the shortest player and the first dual-sport athlete in the Philippine Basketball Association.[16] Pacquiao also owns a team in the PBA Developmental League (PBA D-League), the MP Hotel Warriors.