Manny Pacquiao is a man that needs no introductions but if you wanted one you’d be spoilt for choice. There’s Manny Pacquiao the pound-for-pound No1 ranked boxer in the world, Manny Pacquiao the congressman, Manny Pacquiao the philanthropist, Manny Pacquiao the singer, and the list goes on.

Current WBO welterweight champion, Pacquiao is the first boxer in history to win ten world titles, the first to win in eight different weight classes and the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes.

From humble beginnings in General Santos City in the Philippines, Pacquiao left home aged 14, a fresh-faced skinny kid, and headed for the capital Manila where he began selling doughnuts on the street, and taking fights for a couple of dollars here and there to supplement his income.

Quite the fighter, the Pac Man was quickly gobbling up opponents put in front of him and soon turned his focus to boxing. An early pro career in the Philippines saw him rack up a 32-2 record with a WBC flyweight title to boot. But things didn’t really kick off for the young fighter till he walked into Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Pacquiao and Roach would form a formidable partnership that would take the young boxer from exciting fighter to superstardom. First they went after the Mexicans, earning Pacquiao the nickname the ‘Mexicutioner’ as one by one they put the sword to Latin legends such as Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez and Erik Morales. Then came the journey through the weights stopping a larger Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto and the list continues.

More than just a boxer, Pacquiao has crossed over worldwide, not least in his home country the Philippines where he is a national hero and was voted into Congress in 2010 as the representative for the district of Sarangani.