Manny Pacquiao: Pacman, Freddie Roach and a record eight weight classes | Ultimate Boxing Reunion

Why fans still care

MANNY PACQUIAO won his first world title at 19 and his last one at 40. In between he won titles in eight weight classes, more than any other boxer, and on 1 January 2020 he became the first boxer to hold a world title in four different decades.

He was a southpaw, 5 feet 5 inches, who kept coming forward and threw punches in volume. Ask a fight fan about him and you will hear about the speed first, then about the string of big names he beat, and then someone will bring up Brisbane.

Early life

He was born in Kibawe, Bukidnon, on 17 December 1978 and grew up in General Santos City, in the south of the Philippines. AP reports that he left an impoverished home as a teenager and stowed away on a ship to Manila.

In Manila he found a gym. Ben Delgado, his first boxing coach, met him at the LM Gym in the mid 1990s and worked with him for about six years. Pacquiao has said he had 60 wins and 4 losses as an amateur.

In his 2010 autobiography he says that watching Mike Tyson, Who’s Who number 34 lose to Buster Douglas in 1990, when Pacquiao was a boy, changed his life. He writes that he knew then that he would become a fighter, and that the underdog can win.

The early fights

He turned professional on 22 January 1995, aged 16, and won a four round decision over Edmund Enting Ignacio. A year later, in February 1996, Rustico Torrecampo knocked him out in round 3.

On 4 December 1998 he knocked out Chatchai Sasakul in round 8 in Thailand to win the WBC flyweight title. He was 19.

He lost that title on the scales. On 17 September 1999, in Thailand, Medgoen Singsurat stopped him in round 3 with body shots. Pacquiao had missed the weight and lost the belt before the first bell, and he was 26 and 1 as a professional. Singsurat said later, “He hit me so hard I went dizzy and I was surprised that one punch had done that to me.”

Career chapters

1. 1995Turns professional on 22 January, aged 16
2. 1998Knocks out Chatchai Sasakul to win the WBC flyweight title, aged 19
3. 2001Stops Lehlohonolo Ledwaba on about two weeks’ notice, his first fight with Freddie Roach
4. 2003Stops Marco Antonio Barrera in round 11 for the lineal featherweight title
5. 2004Draws with Juan Manuel Márquez
6. 2008Beats Márquez on a split decision, stops David Díaz for the WBC lightweight title, then stops Oscar De La Hoya, Who’s Who number 10 (story coming soon) after round 8
7. 2009Knocks out Ricky Hatton in round 2, then stops Miguel Cotto in round 12
8. 2010Beats Antonio Margarito for his eighth division. Elected to the House of Representatives in May
9. 2012Loses a split decision to Timothy Bradley, then is knocked out by Márquez
10. 2015Loses a unanimous decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr, Who’s Who number 14
11. 2017Loses to Jeff Horn in Brisbane
12. 2018Stops Lucas Matthysse. Freddie Roach leaves, and returns for the next fight
13. 2019Beats Keith Thurman on a split decision
14. 2021Loses to Yordenis Ugás and retires
15. 2025Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Draws with Mario Barrios

Ledwaba and Roach 2001

On 23 June 2001 he fought Lehlohonolo Ledwaba for the IBF super bantamweight title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He had about two weeks’ notice, after Enrique Sánchez was injured. It was his United States debut, and the first time Freddie Roach trained him. After one round on the mitts, Roach told his team the kid could fight.

Pacquiao stopped Ledwaba in round 6.

Barrera and Márquez 2003 to 2008

On 15 November 2003 he fought Marco Antonio Barrera at the Alamodome in San Antonio for the lineal featherweight title. Barrera was a Mexican great, and he was given a knockdown in round 1 that the match report called questionable. In round 3 Pacquiao dropped him with a straight left. In round 11 Barrera’s brother Jorge threw in the towel, and the referee Laurence Cole stopped it at 2:56.

On 8 May 2004 he fought Juan Manuel Márquez at the MGM Grand and the fight was scored a draw. Pacquiao had put Márquez down three times in round 1, and one judge, Burt Clements, still scored the round 10 to 7. In 2005 Érik Morales beat him on points. He beat Morales by TKO in round 10 on 21 January 2006 and by knockout in round 3 in November 2006.

On 15 March 2008 he beat Márquez on a split decision at Mandalay Bay for the WBC super featherweight title. Duane Ford and Tom Miller scored it for Pacquiao, 115 to 112 and 114 to 113, and Jerry Roth had it 115 to 112 for Márquez. A left hook put Márquez down in round 3. On 28 June 2008 he stopped David Díaz in round 9 for the WBC lightweight title.

De La Hoya 6 December 2008

He fought Oscar De La Hoya, Who’s Who number 10 (story coming soon) at the MGM Grand in a non title welterweight fight, and De La Hoya’s corner stopped it after round 8.

Roach knew the opponent. He trained De La Hoya for the 2007 fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr, Who’s Who number 14, in an eight week camp in Puerto Rico. In 2018 De La Hoya said of Pacquiao, “When I fought Pacquiao, he was the best and I have to respect that.”

Hatton and Cotto 2009

On 2 May 2009 he fought Ricky Hatton at the MGM Grand. He put Hatton down twice in round 1, and in round 2 a chopping left hand ended it at 2:59.

On 14 November 2009 he fought Miguel Cotto, the WBO welterweight champion, at the same arena. Cotto went down in round 3 to a right hand and in round 4 to a left, and the referee Kenny Bayless stopped it at 0:55 of round 12. It was Pacquiao’s seventh title in seven weight classes.

Margarito and the eighth division 2010

On 13 November 2010 he beat Antonio Margarito on a unanimous decision at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in front of 41,734 people. It was for a vacant super welterweight title, his eighth weight class. He landed 474 punches to Margarito’s 229. Afterwards he said, “I did not want to damage him permanently.”

Márquez and Bradley 2011 to 2014

On 12 November 2011 he beat Márquez a third time, on a majority decision, at the MGM Grand. Dave Moretti scored it 115 to 113 and Glenn Trowbridge 116 to 112 for Pacquiao, and Robert Hoyle had it 114 to 114. It was his 15th win in a row. BBC called the result “somewhat controversial”, and much of the crowd was angry about it.

On 9 June 2012 Timothy Bradley won a split decision over him for the WBO welterweight title. Jerry Roth scored it 115 to 113 for Pacquiao, and Duane Ford and CJ Ross scored it 115 to 113 for Bradley. A WBO review of five judges scored it for Pacquiao, but the result stood. It was his first loss since 2005.

On 8 December 2012 Márquez knocked him out in round 6 with one second left in the round. Márquez had been down in round 5 and Pacquiao in round 3. Pacquiao said afterwards, “I got hit with a punch I didn’t see.”

On 12 April 2014 he beat Bradley on a unanimous decision, 116 to 112, 116 to 112 and 118 to 110, and took the WBO welterweight title back.

Mayweather 2 May 2015

He fought Floyd Mayweather Jr, Who’s Who number 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and Mayweather won a unanimous decision, 118 to 110, 116 to 112 and 116 to 112. ESPN reported the pay per view total as amended from 4.4 million to about 4.6 million buys in the United States. Deadline reported over US$410 million in revenue, and the live gate was a record US$72.2 million.

Horn 2 July 2017

He fought Jeff Horn at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane in front of more than 51,000 people. Horn was from Brisbane, and the betting had Pacquiao a heavy favourite. The judges scored it 117 to 111, 115 to 113 and 115 to 113 for Horn.

Afterwards the WBO had five independent judges review the fight. They gave Horn seven rounds to five, and the WBO said it could not reverse the result.

Roach, Matthysse and the return 2018 to 2019

In April 2018 Pacquiao announced, in the last line of a press release, that Roach would not be in his corner for his next fight. Buboy Fernandez and Nonoy Neri took over for the fight with Lucas Matthysse in Kuala Lumpur on 15 July 2018. Matthysse went down in rounds 3, 5 and 7, and Bayless stopped it at 2:43 of round 7. It was Pacquiao’s first knockout since Cotto in 2009.

Roach came back for the next one. On 19 January 2019 Pacquiao beat Adrien Broner on a unanimous decision, 117 to 111, 116 to 112 and 116 to 112. He was 40.

On 20 July 2019 he beat Keith Thurman at the MGM Grand on a split decision. He put Thurman down in round 1, and two judges scored it 115 to 112 for Pacquiao and one scored it 114 to 113 for Thurman. It was for the WBA welterweight title.

Retirement and the return 2021 to 2025

On 21 August 2021 he lost a unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugás at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and said he had done his best. On 29 September 2021 he announced his retirement, aged 42, with a record of 62 wins, 8 losses and 2 draws. He said, “I just heard the final bell. The boxing is over.”

He came back at 46. On 19 July 2025 he fought the WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and it was ruled a majority draw, with one judge for Barrios and two scoring it even. He said afterwards, “I thought I won the fight.”

Politics

He was elected to the House of Representatives for Sarangani in May 2010 and to the Senate in May 2016. He ran for president in 2022 and conceded on 10 May 2022, with about 3.6 million votes in the partial count. He lost his Senate comeback bid in May 2025.

The Hall of Fame 2025

He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the Class of 2025, in the men’s modern category.

Style, technique and the corner

How he fought

He was a southpaw, 5 feet 5 inches tall with a 67 inch reach, and he fought with speed and constant volume. Freddie Roach said in 2008, “Manny’s one of those guys, he’s a lot faster than people think and he hits really hard.” Before the De La Hoya fight Roach said the fight would be won on speed.

In 2018 De La Hoya named Pacquiao the toughest of all the fighters he faced, and listed his determination, conditioning, skills, power, speed and footwork.

The punches

A chopping left hand finished Hatton in round 2. A left hook dropped Márquez in round 3 in 2008, and a straight left dropped Barrera in round 3 in 2003. Against Cotto it was a right hand in round 3 and a left in round 4. Against Matthysse a left uppercut dropped him in round 3, a right hand to the temple in round 5 and another left uppercut in round 7.

Training

Roach described his camp before the 2008 Márquez rematch. Pacquiao ran six days a week: a flat run of about 35 minutes (four and a half to five miles) on sparring days and hill runs at Griffith Park on the others, with a couple of thousand sit-ups. A writer who watched a session saw him do nine rounds or more on the mitts, then a three minute drill of non stop punching. In 2019 Roach told Gulf News that Pacquiao “has a tendency to over-train” and that some days he held him back.

The corner

Ben Delgado was his first boxing coach, from the mid 1990s, and he was replaced by Freddie Roach in 2001. Roach trained him at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood from 2001 to April 2018, a 16 year, 34 fight association, and they won seven of his eight divisional titles together. Pacquiao fired him in a press release before the Matthysse fight, and they were back together for Broner in January 2019.

Buboy Fernandez, a childhood friend, carried the spit bucket at the 2001 United States debut and was in his corner for every fight as an assistant. He became head trainer in 2018.

Justin Fortune, an Australian former heavyweight who once fought Lennox Lewis, Who’s Who number 29, was his conditioning coach from 2001 to 2007. Alex Ariza took over after him, and Fortune came back for the Brandon Ríos fight in November 2013.

Weight

He won titles at flyweight, super bantamweight, featherweight, super featherweight, lightweight, junior welterweight, welterweight and super welterweight. He is a southpaw who stood 5 feet 5 inches.

Stories people still tell

1. Two weeks’ notice.

   He took the Ledwaba fight in 2001 with about two weeks to prepare, after the original opponent was injured. It was his first fight in the United States, and Roach’s first with him.

2. The press release.

   After 16 years and 34 fights, Roach found out he had been replaced from the last line of a news release. They made up before the Broner fight.

3. Brisbane.

   More than 51,000 people filled Suncorp Stadium to watch Jeff Horn fight Pacquiao in 2017, and the WBO’s own review later could not reverse the result.

4. The flag.

   At the 2008 Beijing Olympics he carried the Philippine flag at the opening ceremony, the first Filipino given that honour without competing in the Games.

5. In his own words.

   When he retired in 2021 he said, “I just heard the final bell. The boxing is over.”

Legacy

He was the first boxer to win titles in eight weight classes, he held 12 world titles in all, and in 2025 he went into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. The Ring counts 12 wins over Hall of Famers.

Sugar Ray Leonard, Who’s Who number 16 called him a perpetual motion machine, and Bernard Hopkins, Who’s Who number 9 (story coming soon) said in 2009 that he was the number one pound for pound fighter in the world.