Manny Pacquiao is tackling Covid-19 with Jack Ma and may fight UFC’s Conor McGregor for charity too – but how did he get his start?
Tipped to challenge Rodrigo Duterte for the Philippines’ presidency, boxing millionaire Pacquiao may first face UFC’s outspoken Irishman in the ring – but how did the PacMan get where he is today?
Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao’s life story is the stuff of movies. Starting life in extreme poverty in the southern Philippines, the multiple-weight boxing world champion now sits on a US$220 million fortune. So how did he do it?
He lived in a shack
As a child, Pacquiao lived in a small shack surrounded by jungle and coconut groves, in General Santos province on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. The family’s single-room home housed his mum, dad, an older sister and two younger brothers.
His dad picked coconuts to make money
The fighter’s father spent his days climbing trees to collect coconuts to sell. Pacquiao has said his father climbed around 70 trees a day to make enough money to feed the family. His mum sold peanuts to make a little extra here and there.
Pacquiao’s father barely made enough money to feed the family and having rice was a luxury. The family ate what they could scavenge, which was mostly bananas and root crops.
Teased as a child
As a young boy, PacMan was teased because his family was so poor. When one of his younger brothers was bullied one day, Pacquiao stepped in to defend him. He has said he knew at a young age that he would have to be a fighter to get by in life.
He didn’t finish school
At just 12-years-old, Manny dropped out of school and took up boxing. He moved into a one-storey home in General Santos city to follow his dream.
A stowaway
When he was 15 years old and already a well-known boxer in the southern Philippines, Pacquiao stowed away on a boat to the capital, Manila, to get more experience. He has also said that he wanted to lessen the burden on his mother, who by this time had five other children to feed.
𝑫𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒔
As a teenager, Pacquiao experimented with 𝑫𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒔. He later opened up about his 𝑫𝒓𝒖𝒈 abuse, admitting he had taken “all kinds of 𝑫𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒔”. Subsequently, he has supported anti-drug drives in the Philippines and talked often of the need to address the scourge of 𝑫𝒓𝒖𝒈 abuse around the world.
