LAS VEGAS, USA – The irony of boxing is that, regardless of what the sports book odds say, every fight is 1-1. And, in a sport where the overwhelming majority of participants come from an impoverished background, everyone is an underdog.
Manny Pacquiao had been fighting the odds long before discovering that he could put on boxing gloves and earn money to eat. Growing up in General Santos City, Philippines, he was among the millions of poverty-stricken children who lived day to day, unsure of where he?d find his next meal.
With his mother Dionisia unable to support her six children, Pacquiao sold doughnuts on the street and slept on cardboard boxes, a fate that continues to befall many youth in the Southeast Asia country.
The opportunity to make an estimated of $80 million is something he could?ve never expected during those early days when he ran away from home after his father Rosario ate his dog. And with days remaining before he fights Floyd Mayweather Jr, malice gives way to thankfulness.
?There is money but the most important for me is to let the people know there is God. He turned me from nothing into something,? said Pacquiao, 36, while sporting a new diamond bracelet with two boxing gloves dangling from them.
?Like what I told you, my life before I was living in the street with nothing. Now I cannot imagine that a boy that don?t have slippers, sleeping in the street, looking for food, starving. And now can go?around the world. It?s beyond my imagination. I cannot be thankful enough for God for these blessings.?
He was an underdog the night he traveled to Thailand as a skinny 19-year-old and knocked out Chatchai Saskul in eight rounds to win the WBC flyweight title. He was considered a no-hoper when he took a fight against IBF junior featherweight champion in 2001 on short notice in his American debut, and won by sixth-round knockout.
He was thought to be overmatched when he faced Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera in 2003 and stopped him in 11 one-sided rounds. And he was also thought to be too small against Oscar de la Hoya in 2008 before he pounded The Golden Boy into retirement.
Pacquiao has transcended sports in his country, becoming a two term congressman in the Sarangani province and an icon unparalleled by any back home.
Floyd Mayweather Jr is a -200 favorite (meaning you have to bet $200 to win $100) to remain undefeated against Pacquiao when the two clash on Saturday, May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Mayweather hasn?t had it easy either. His father/trainer Floyd Sr a drug dealer who did prison time from 1993 to 1998 on cocaine trafficking charges, took a shotgun blast to the leg while holding his one-year-old son. His mother Deborah was addicted to crack cocaine. He grew up in Grand Rapids, Mich. sharing bedrooms with members of his extended family.
?At Christmas we never had a Christmas? Mayweather told the Independent in 2007.
He found salvation in the family business, following his welterweight contender father, his two-time world champion uncle Roger and his lightweight contender uncle Jeff into the boxing ring.
Mayweather has accrued a record of 47-0 (26 knockouts) while collecting world titles in five divisions. He is the standard-bearer for technical aptitude in the sport, priding himself on his ability to deliver punishment while taking much less in return.
He has broken almost all previous financial records for the sport, including gates, pay-per-view buys and revenues and purses earned.
Mayweather has earned a reported $420 million in his career, despite having virtually no sponsors. He owns a 14-seater G5 jet and has a fleet of Bugattis and other luxury cars that could rival the collection of a Saudi prince.
Pacquiao, a world champion in an unprecedented 8 divisions, has made approximately $335 million, according to Forbes, and has sponsorships with Smart Communications, Nestle Butterfinger Cups, Wonderful Pistachios, Nike and Foot Locker for this fight, with a “secret” sponsor bringing in more revenue for Pacquiao to be announced before the fight, says Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum.
