Manny Pacquiao has alredy achieved what most of his countrymen can only dream of : lifting himself out of wrenching poverty, securing a future for his children and becoming a figurehead for Filipinos all over the world.
Not content with just winning in the ring, Manny Pacquiao has also set about making his mark as a politician.
now after his stunning loss to Juan Manuel Marquez at Las Vegas, 34-year-old is facing some of the toughest questions in his remarkable 17-year career, does his future lay in boxing, politics, showbiz, religion, or is there a new challenge on the horizon ?
"Being the king of boxing, being the highest oaid athlete in boxing... it goes with the territory" boxing analyst Ed Tolentino said "F Manny Pacquiao, the fame was too much handle. there was just too many things on his plate other than boxing"
The distraction was costly for Manny Pacquiao, who trained for only two month, compared to Marquez's 4-1/2 months.
During that time the mexican fighter bulked up and became more muscular to withsttand the Filipino's trademark furious blows that wew so damaging in their three earlier encounters, said boxinf commentator Ronnie Nathanielsz.
Manny Pacquiao grew up a survivor and fighter in the cutthroat world of property and competition in a country where half of the population live on US$2 a day and 3.000 leave for jobs overseas every day.
He left high school to work as a baker and a construction worker to earn money for his mother and siblings after his father left them. As a scawny teenager, he was a stowaway on a ship that took him from his southern hometown of General Santos City to the capital, Manila, where he took up boxing while working as a laborer.
After successful, and some less successful, loacl bouts, his international winning streak began inn 1999 at Thailand as a 112-pound fighter. In the next decade, he became a household name by clinching eight world titles in eight weight categories.
At home, he was declared a hero, "the people's champ" an inspiration to the legions of the poor and the man the rich and powerful wanted to rib shoulders with. As the titles, honors and money started pouring in, so diddistractions. Politicians, movie bit players and an assortment of hanger-on formed his huge entourage.
In a nation where celebrities, money and politics equal a winning formula, Manny Pacquiao played his card by running for Congress in 2007 but lost.
The most popular face in town, he turned to crooning his own songs. His Picture endorsed countless product. He's reguler on TV and hosts his own show. He's made a movie. His passion was cock fighting a traditional past time in the Philippines.
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