Boxer, Godfather, saint, politician … Is there anything in the world that Manny can’t do? READ FULL STORY in Newsweek magazine’s cover story of November 7, 2011, Philippine and Latin American editions.

In recent years, one of the most interesting phenomena ever to emerge from Philippine media is the Manny Pacquiao phenomenon. There has never been anything quite like it before. READ FULL STORY

Washington — Late Monday afternoon (Feb. 14), Manny Pacquiao and company, lots and lots of company, boarded Acela Express No. 2165 in the belly of Pennsylvania Station. Pacquiao entered his private car (cost: $10,000) flanked by two documentary film crews, promoters, publicists, advisers, his chief of staff and his wife, Jinkee. READ FULL STORY (Photo: Manny Pacquiao with US Senate Leader Harry Reid on Capitol Hill.)

By Michael Rosenthal

Arlington, Texas – We’re running out of words.

Manny Pacquiao fought a three-time world titleholder who outweighed him by 17 pounds when they entered the ring. He supposedly had a number of distractions while training in the Philippines. He was sluggish in sparring. Even some of those close to him were concerned going into this fight.

The result? A beating the likes we’ve rarely seen at this level of boxing, one that gave Pacquiao a major title in a mind-boggling eighth weight class – almost half of the 17 – and added to a legend that just continues to grow.

The scores indicate how one-sided it was before 41,734 on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium: 120-108 (a shutout), 118-110 and 119-109. The RingTV.com had it 120-107. The CompuBox punch stats were staggering: Pacquiao landed 474 punches (out of 1,069 thrown), No. 8 all-time for a title fight. And get this: He landed 411 of 713 power shots, 58 percent.

You had to see it to fully understand it, though.

Pacquiao landed two-, three-, four-punch combinations seemingly at will and avoided taking blows unless he purposely stepped into the path of danger, a pattern that left Margarito’s face a grotesque mess. His skin was bright red, his eyes were swollen shut and blood dripped from a deep cut under his right eye.

Exhilarating and gruesome

It was exhilarating and gruesome at the same time.

It was exhilarating because of the explosiveness and efficiency of Pacquiao’s work. I was in absolute awe at what I saw, a once-in-a-lifetime athlete whose ability is a true gift to boxing fans.

It was gruesome because a brave man was being beaten to a pulp by the fast hands of a killer. Even those disgusted with Margarito’s role in the hand-wrap scandal had to feel sorry for him during the last few rounds of the fight, which should’ve been stopped to prevent further suffering.

To be clear, this wasn’t a great fight. It was a slaughter, which was predictable given the wide disparity in their talent. Margarito’s size advantage was meaningful only because it likely played a role in his survival.

Pacquiao could’ve won every second of every round by pecking away at Margarito from the outside and avoiding his rushes by using his quick feet, as he did numerous times when the Mexican tried to trap him in a corner or against ropes.

Make people happy

That’s not Pacquiao, though. He purposely entered dangerous situations – fighting Margarito inside, laying on the ropes — because, as he said, “I wanted to make people happy.” As a result, he added some drama to the fight by taking a few unnecessary punches.

“It was a hard fight,” said Pacquiao, being charitable. “I did my best to win. I can’t believe I beat a guy that big and that strong.”

That said, Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 knockouts) was never, ever in trouble. He said afterward that he knew in the second round that this was his fight but I suspect that realization probably came before they signed the contracts several months ago.

The Filipino marvel knew exactly what he was getting into. Still, he had to get the job done against a relative giant. Margarito weighed 165 pounds , Pacquiao 148, which in effect meant they were three weight classes apart.

And Pacquiao made it an absolute rout.

“I don’t think we lost a round,” said Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach. “I wish we would’ve knocked him out. He’s a very tough guy. I’m surprised how tough. He has the worst corner. His corner ruined his career by not stopping the fight.”

Uncommon courage

Margarito (38-7, 27 KOs) did show uncommon courage, which isn’t surprising given his track record of such efforts.

The proud Mexican would never have quit. And referee Laurence Cole probably would never have stopped it because Margarito continued to defend himself (or at least try) and throw punches.

It was up to Robert Garcia, Margarito’s trainer. He reportedly asked his fighter whether he wanted to continue late in the fight – and was told emphatically, “yes” – but Garcia probably should’ve stepped in nevertheless.

In the end, it was Pacquiao who saved his opponent from undue punishment. He went into cruise control the last few rounds because he didn’t want to inflict unnecessary punishment, which might’ve cost him a knockout.

“I told the ref, ‘Look at his eyes, look at his cuts,’” Pacquiao said. “I didn’t want to hurt him anymore.”

So in the end he turned in one of the most-dominating performances in recent years and then capped it off with a heart-warming act of kindness.

That’s Manny Pacquiao. One of a kind.

(Michael Rosenthal is an associate editor of The Ring magazine.)

How Manny Pacquiao rose from poverty to become boxing’s reigning superstar — and a congressman in his native Philippines — can get lost in the buzz of the sport’s marketing machine and the demands of his daily world. READ FULL STORY

Manny Pacquiao’s black Hummer was nowhere in sight. The parade that he was supposed to lead had already wound down in front of the town hall here. His seat, the seat of honor, stood vacant on a stage on which singers, three beauty queens and the province’s ruling political class sat waiting. READ FULL STORY

By Doug Fischer

Manny Pacquiao’s welterweight title defense against Joshua Clottey lived up to its billing as an event — drawing the third biggest crowd to an indoor stadium in the U.S. — but it didn’t deliver much of a fight to the 50,994 fans who packed Cowboys Stadium on Saturday.

It’s obvious that Pacquiao’s on such a level that fights with good, solid fighters like Clottey will not produce compelling fights.

For a real event — one that would dwarf Saturday’s — and one that would deliver a compelling fight, Pacquiao’s next fight must be against the winner of the Shane Mosley-Floyd Mayweather Jr. welterweight showdown on May 1.      READ FULL STORY.

Manny Pacquiao is aiming for a fifth straight knockout victory when he puts his World Boxing Organization welterweight title on the line against Joshua Clottey on March 13 at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, believes the Ghanian opponent, who has never been knocked out, will be a difficult assignment. But he is confident the Filipino boxing sensation can dispose of him within the distance.

“I think we’re going to get him (Clottey) in 12 easily, but he’s definitely a tough guy to knock out,” said Roach. “That’s our goal, to knock him out and be the first one to do that.”

“It’s a hard fight, of course, because he’s a true welterweight and a big, strong kid, so Pacquiao is going to have to really fight smart with his speed,” added Roach.

To ensure a knockout win, Roach said his ward has to box, in and out, side to side, and be very tactical because Clottey is a strong and big puncher with an iron chin.

Pacquiao, the undisputed pound-for-pound king, stopped his last four opponents — David Diaz, Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto. Pacquiao carries a 50-3-2 record, with 38 knockouts.

The 32-year-old Clottey is coming off a controversial split-decision loss to Cotto last June, a fight many thought Clottey won. He has a 35-3 record, with 20 KOs.

Their bout will be fought at the 147-pound welterweight limit.  Pacquiao weighed at 144 pounds when battled Cotto. Clottey, a big welterweight known to have trouble making the weight limit at times, has weighed more than 147 pounds in 11 bouts, including twice at 154 pounds.

Pacquiao left for Los Angeles on Jan. 17 to begin training at Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood.

Roach has lined up 154 and 160-pounders to spar with Pacquiao, including German Felix Sturm, the WBA middleweight champion, and Mexican Roberto Garcia, who fights at 154 and boasts a 29-2 record.

Pacquiao started out a 3-1 favorite for the March 13 bout, Examiner.com reported. Bettors need to wager $300 to win $100 on Pacquiao. Clottey will start at plus-270, meaning a $100 bet on him will earn $270.

The Pacquiao-Clottey bout replaced a previously scheduled highly-lucrative match-up between Pacquiao and five-time champ Floyd Mayweather fell through in early January over the issue of pre-fight anti-doping blood tests. Mayweather originally insisted they be conducted right up to the fight, while Pacquiao wanted a 30-day cut off before the bout. They were unable to reach a compromise.

The title fight will be held at the Cowboys Stadium, the billion-dollar state-of-the-art home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had put the facility forward as a venue for the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight.

Promoter Bob Arum is pleased with the choice of venue. “Jerry Jones knows exactly how big and important this event is, which is why it was so easy to put this deal together,” Arum said. “If Jerry could sell me on Cowboys Stadium and the North Texas market, you know he is going to have no problems selling out Cowboys Stadium on March 13.”

Jones said he was thrilled to host a bout involving a fighter of Pacquiao’s stature, regardless of his opponent, and even if the fight with Clottey won’t be the mega money-spinner that Pacquiao-Mayweather promised to be.

“Manny defending his title against Joshua Clottey is not just a great fight, it’s a great event, and one we can showcase to the fullest in Cowboys Stadium,” Jones said. “We’re going to promote this like it was the Super Bowl.”

The stadium won’t be configured for maximum 100,000 seating capacity. They’ll start out planning in the 40,000 seat range, but can increase that capacity if needed.