HE is among the greatest fighters of all time, but Manny Pacquiao couldn?t help but smile after being knocked out cold.
Pacquiao lay motionless on the canvas for several minutes after Juan Manuel Marquez drilled him with a vicious right hand inside the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on December 8, 2012.
His inconsolable wife Jinkee was frantically trying to get to the unconscious Pacquiao in the ring as chaos descended.
As the fighter finally came to, and the deafening silence that had fallen across the Philippines turned to relieved murmurs, Pacquiao absorbed what had transpired and exhaled a knowing smile.
He?d seen it coming.
For the first time, Pacquiao has opened up to a media organisation about his premonitions.
Pacquiao had foreseen his two most devastating losses before they transpired, and the boxing superstar believes God was warning him ahead of time so he could mentally cope with defeat.
He told News Corp Australia he dreamt about his 2015 loss to Floyd Mayweather and the shock knockout suffered at the hands of Marquez before he entered the ring.
Pacquiao says he?s dreamt of several of his fight?s outcomes and they have never been wrong, adding that he?s told his closest confidants about his visions.
During this interview, Pacquiao?s adviser Michael Koncz and publicist Fred Sternburg confirmed that the fighter had told them about his dream losing to Mayweather ahead of time.
The 38-year-old Filipino has been deeply religious since a divine moment in his Manila bedroom in 1995, during which he said God spoke to him.
Pacquiao, who was fighting for $2 paydays at the time, has gone to amass a $500 million fortune from boxing and become one of the greatest boxers of all time.
?I have a lot of beautiful stories, and special stories, but this story is really kind of encouraging for us,? Pacquiao said.
?And I wrote this (in my diary).
?I?m in training for the Mayweather fight … in LA.
?One month before the fight I had a dream.
?And my dream is the fight with Mayweather, and in that dream I lost the fight.
And early in the morning when I went to jog, I have a pastor, and the LA boys, I tell them the story of my dream; ?I have a dream and the fight is already finished with Floyd Mayweather, I lost the fight?. I told them.
?But I saw, there is controversy, it?s not clear, there?s a protest.
?I ask them, ?Why is that??
?And the pastor said, ?We just pray, we just pray?.
?That story, I write it that day in (my diary), that dream. But I told them already.
?After the fight, what I saw in my dream (was) exactly what happened to the fight. Exactly what happened to the fight.?
Pacquiao lost to Mayweather in a unanimous points decision in a bout dubbed The Fight Of The Century. It grossed more than $500 million worldwide, making it the biggest event in boxing history.
There was controversy regarding the scoring of the fight because the three judges, who all scored it an easy Mayweather win, had him as the fighter in the red corner when in fact he was in the blue corner.
Prior to that bout, Pacquiao had suffered his most brutal loss to Marquez in the fourth meeting between the pair.
Again, Pacquiao had foreseen the loss.
On Marquez fight, I never felt bad (about) what happened because I saw that one week before the fight,? Pacquiao said.
Asked what he thought his dreams were, Pacquiao replied: ?It?s a message. It?s a favour, I?m so thankful because God told me ahead of time (to be prepared).
?Sunday night (before the fight), I had a dream and I tell everybody, asking them ?What is this??
?After the fight, if you watch the fight, when you review the fight, when I?m in the ring, I just smiled because I remembered my dream.
?It?s from the Lord.
?You cannot say I make (up) a story because the fight is already finished, no, I told (people) ahead of time.?
Pacquiao also wrote about his prophecies in his personal diary.
He said he had not yet had a dream about the result of his looming fight with Aussie Jeff Horn, with the pair clashing at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on July 2.
Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao was born on December 17, 1978, in the Filipino town of Kibawe.
His family lived in abject poverty with makeshift housing.
By the time he was 14, Pacquiao?s family could no longer afford to send him to school so he left home and lived on the streets, taking up boxing for the Philippine national amateur team because the government paid for his room.
After a strong amateur career Pacquaio turned pro in 1995, fighting for purses of $1 to $2, before experiencing his seminal moment.
?If I tell you the story of my life, you might say I?m crazy, or you might say I?m insane, or you might say (it?s) ?because of the punches he took in boxing?,? Pacquiao said.
In my life, I experienced (hearing) the voice of God.
?It?s up to you whether you believe me or not, I?m just telling you.
?And when I heard the voice of God, I?m melting, like I died, that?s what I?m feeling.
?Since then, never in my life did I forget that moment.
?I pray always that ?my future in not in my hands, it?s in your hands, your thought is higher than my thought, and your plan is higher than my plan, let your will be done?.
?And that?s what happened.?
Pacquiao became the only man in boxing history to win world titles in eight different weight categories, from flyweight to light middleweight, and become a God-like figure in the Philippines.
?Until now I?m always thinking of what I have accomplished, and I think, ?I (couldn?t have done) this, how did I do this??? Pacquiao said.
?But it?s a promise, nothing is impossible with God, when you believe.?
With a professional record of 59-6 (38KO) and a burgeoning career as a Filipino senator, Pacquiao is certain of two things; that his story has been written by God, and how he wants to be remembered.
?I look forward to being an inspiration,? he said.
?Not only a hero for them or to be their favourite boxer or favourite athlete, but to be an inspiration in their lives as a person and how we get through these trials and challenges in our lives.?
