Word: pacquiao
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...Pacquiao is a source of local pride, but the attention he receives is sometimes dangerous. Dionisia has been robbed, and there have been threats made against his children; the tall walls, the guard tower and the bodyguard manning his house are clearly meant to discourage casual visitors. The boy who had nothing has much to lose now. Under orders from Pacquiao, his sons - toddlers Emmanuel Jr. and Michael - are kept in an air-conditioned back room all day, out of reach of kidnappers. Pacquiao has said he'll forbid his sons to enter the ring, but Dionisia understands how powerless...
...Instead, Pacquiao fled GenSan at age 14 by stowing away on a ship bound for Manila. He had no friends, no money and one goal: "I wanted to be a world champion," Pacquiao recalls. Supporting himself as a construction worker, he gained local renown quickly on the amateur and pro-boxing circuit as a powerful puncher with little discipline and less fear. "There was hardly any science in his fighting," says Rudy Salud, a Manila-based boxing manager and former secretary-general of the World Boxing Council (WBC). "He fought like a mad dog. He was rather wild...
...certainly seemed that way. In 1998, when he was just 19, Pacquiao won a world flyweight title. Two years later, he added a world superbantamweight title. But it wasn't until manager Nazario hooked him up with Freddie Roach, a respected boxing trainer in Los Angeles, that Pacquiao began to reach his potential. "I could tell there was something inside him, but he had not yet discovered it because no one was teaching him," Nazario recalls. "That's why I decided to bring him to the States." Roach took Pacquiao's natural aggressiveness and fearlessness and combined them with defense...
...brilliant as Pacquiao's win over Barrera was, it's still just one night. To achieve lasting greatness, he'll have to repeat moments like that again and again. He could start on May 8, when he goes up against International Boxing Federation and WBC featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, a tough, powerful counterpuncher. Though ranked as boxing's top featherweight, Pacquiao holds no title belts in the division - beating Marquez would make him the official champ and quiet any doubters who feel the Barrera fight was a one-off. Some question Pacquiao's readiness, however, whereas Marquez has apparently...
...situation bears a worrisome resemblance to Pacquiao's first loss, back in 1995. He was expected to cruise over a local fighter named Rustico Torrecampo and slacked off in his training, only to be floored by a third-round punch that left him unconscious, the one time in his career he has been knocked out. "I was a little overconfident," Pacquiao admits. "I was a little careless...