ABOUT 15 years ago, a Manila-bound ship was unknowingly carrying with it a priceless national treasure that had yet to be unveiled then: A 12-year-old stowaway with an unusually strong left hand and a head filled with big dreams.
“I wanted to be a world champion,” the now world famous sporting icon said, recalling his thoughts during the wave-tossed voyage.
Fifteen years after that fateful journey, Manny Pacquiao has fulfilled his dreams. And more.
Using his left hand as a calling card, Pacquiao slowly rose in the world boxing ranks, sending rivals crumpling down to the canvass and pocketing millions in prize money.
Not bad for someone who had to quit school in sixth grade to try to help a fatherless family make ends meet.
“He was a bright student but didn’t finish school because of poverty,” says Jognard Verzoza, who went to elementary school with Pacquiao. “You could tell how poor his family was by his clothes.”
Today, you can tell how rich he is by the luxuries he enjoys. Aside from hundreds of millions in prize money and tens of millions more from television profit slices, Pacquiao also has his pockets lined with endorsement money.
The latest comes from the region’s biggest food and beverage conglomerate in a blockbuster deal that will soon make him one of the country’s wealthiest athletes.
From a lowly “panadero” (baker’s hand) to a multimillionaire at 27, Pacquiao has truly been an inspiration to millions who see in him hope and a reprieve from the drudgery of life in the Philippines. Thus, it isn’t a stretch to call him the Filipino “Cinderella Man.”
Born in crushing poverty on Dec. 12, 1978, Emmanuel D. Pacquiao grew up in a one-room shanty in a coastal village in General Santos City in war-torn Mindanao.
His parents separated when he was young, and his mother, Dionisia, had to support six children with her paltry income from a series of odd jobs. Pacquiao helped out by selling bread and taking in laundry.
Pacquiao reached sixth grade and then dropped out because his family was too poor to keep him in school. His mother wanted him to be a priest, but he had other plans.
Pacquiao fled General Santos City at age 12 to pursue his dream to be a boxer, stowing away on a ship bound for Manila.
Supporting himself initially as a construction worker and by hustling at pool halls and basketball courts, he never lost sight of his goal. And he rose quickly in the amateur and pro-boxing circuit.
With his recent win over three-time world champion Erik Morales of Mexico, Pacquiao is now ranked the top contender and is now eligible to face Marco Antonio Barrera, the man he beat by an 11th round TKO in 2003, again for the World Boxing Council superfeatherweight title.
With his earnings, Pacquiao can well afford to retire from boxing.
Pacquiao confesses he has been thinking of life outside the boxing ring but, for now, his priority has been to set his finances in order and secure his family’s future. He has purchased a P3-million home in General Santos City, a condominium unit in Davao, another house in Para?aque City and a gamecock breeding farm.
While he allows himself some luxuries (he has a Honda SUV, a Ford Expedition, a Toyota Tamaraw and, his latest acquisition, a Porsche Cayenne worth millions), Pacquiao also makes sure his newfound wealth trickles down to as many people a man of his status can afford to help.
On his 26th birthday, for instance, he distributed thousands of gift packs to those who visited his home.
For now, most of his earnings are managed by his wife, Jinkee, and the lady of the house keeps a large part of the money in a bank.
The couple recently decided to open a retail store named after Pacquiao’s boxing monicker, “The Pacman,” but that initial venture into “mom-and-pop” entrepreneurship is getting a big helping hand from another proud Philippine institution, San Miguel Corp.
Pacquiao has signed a deal that will see him carry the standard for San Miguel. He has agreed to do a series of commercials for the company, appearing as a talent in ads promoting San Miguel Beer and Magnolia Ice Cream.
“Manny’s image fits very well with our values in San Miguel, particularly the passion for success,” San Miguel president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang said. “We are proud to have Manny as our partner in bringing to the market products that are well-loved by consumers.”
Beyond the endorsement deal, Pacquiao is also set to make his initial foray into big business, as he enters into a product distribution deal with San Miguel.
Indeed, this slugger has come a long way in a life journey that began as a stowaway.
