10 Reasons Why You Need To Watch Mayweather Vs Pacquiao

Floyd Mayweather wasn’t born into money: as a child growing up in New Jersey, he and seven other family members shared a bedroom in a household that sometimes couldn’t afford hot water or electricity. However, compared with the upbringing experienced by Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather’s childhood was distinctly affluent.

Pacquiao often slept in a cardboard shack as a child and left his home in General Santos City aged just 14 to seek out a living in Manila. He made his bow as a professional boxer two years later but had to put weights in his pockets just to fulfill the minimum weight requirement, but the then-98 pound fighter has certainly since proven his hunger.

The Filipino is lauded in some circles as boxing’s first and only eight-division world champion, but in reality this is a half-truth at best. Pacquiao did win genuine world titles at Flyweight, Super Bantamweight, Super Featherweight, Lightweight and Super Welterweight, and nowadays his WBO Welterweight title would also be considered legitimate. Nevertheless, the IBO Junior Welterweight bestowed on Pac-Man when he poleaxed Ricky Hatton in brutal fashion is an empty bauble and The Ring belts secured in three weight divisions are worth little more.

Regardless, Pacquiao’s rise through the weight divisions and willingness to take on naturally bigger opponents distinguishes him as a modern legend of the sport.