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<img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources/manny-pacquiao-t.webp" alt="Manny Pacquiao" />
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(Manny Pacquiao)
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Early Life and Rise to Fame
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Born into poverty, Pacquiao's early years were marked by hardship. Growing up in <a href="https://kahimyang.com/articles/3199/today-in-filipino-history-june-22-1890-general-paulino-santos-was-born-in-camiling-tarlac" class="news_link">General Santos</a> City, he faced financial struggles that forced him to leave school at the age of 14 to help support his mother and five siblings. Moving to Manila, he discovered boxing as a means to escape poverty. His raw talent and determination led him to join the Philippine national amateur boxing team, and by 1995, he turned professional. In 1998, he won his first world title, the WBC flyweight championship, setting the stage for an unprecedented career.
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Pacquiao's rise to fame was meteoric. He became the first and only eight-division world champion in boxing history, securing twelve major world titles across four decades (1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s). He was the first boxer to win major world titles in four of the eight "glamour divisions" (flyweight, featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight). His notable victories include bouts against boxing legends such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Antonio_Barrera" class="news-link-ext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Marco Antonio Barrera</a>, Erik Morales, Miguel Cotto, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_De_La_Hoya" class="news-link-ext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Oscar De La Hoya</a>. In 2010, he was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 2000s by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA), WBC, and WBO. His fights have generated over 19.6 million pay-per-view buys and $1.2 billion in revenue, making him one of the highest-paid athletes of his era.
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December 17, 1978: Manny Pacquiao was born in Kibawe, Bukidnon