Manny Pacquiao's Poignant Perseverance in the Boxing Ring
And there was so much to be proud of. Born into extreme poverty on the island of Mindanao, he was — at the height of his career — a whirlwind of prowess and prosperity, with the relentless voracity of the videogame that became his nickname: Pac-Man. One estimate has his net worth at more than $200 million, out of earnings from the sport and endorsements as high as half-a-billion dollars. His 2015 battle with nemesis Floyd Mayweather Jr. still holds the record for most pay-per-view sales: 4.6 million. He is literally pound-for-pound the greatest pugilist of our time: the only boxer in history to hold championships in eight different weight classes. When I reported on him in 2009, he'd already won six and was preparing to win his seventh — in the welterweight division. That was 40 pounds (640 ounces, or 18.1 kilograms) heavier than the 107-pound flyweight class he began his career with 11 years before. He claimed the eighth — the super welterweight, which has a top limit of 154 pounds — in 2019 when he was 40 years old.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Jake Paul Issues Warning To High-Profile Critics Over Nasty Accusations
Jake Paul is fed up with high-profile critics—especially the ones who question the legitimacy of his boxing matches. No one understands the influencer world better than Paul and he's trying to head off negative accusations before they become widespread public perception. Following a steady stream of accusations that his fights are rigged, Paul has hired powerhouse attorney Alex Spiro to pursue legal action. Spiro is best known for defending names like Elon Musk, Jay-Z, Alec Baldwin, and Naomi Osaka, and now he's representing Paul—and he's drawn a line in the sand for critics who attack his client with baseless accusations. 'I've been retained by Mr. Paul to pursue legal redress for the damages he has suffered,' Spiro said in a statement posted by the Daily Mail. 'If someone uses their public soapbox to harm him and the sport with lies, there will be consequences.' Paul also made his stance clear on social media. You can take a look here: The legal action comes after a string of public challenges to Paul's legitimacy as a boxer. Most recently, media personalities like Piers Morgan and former NFL player Adam "Pacman" Jones floated the idea that Paul's biggest fights—especially his bout with Mike Tyson, watched by over 108 million people on Netflix—may have been staged. Jones even claimed Tyson appeared to tell Paul to 'slow down' after landing punches early in the fight. That kind of public speculation, Paul's team says, is more than just noise—it's defamation with real consequences for ongoing brand deals, broadcast partnerships, and long-term credibility in the sport. Anytime there is widespread speculation about pre-determined or altered results in a sporting event, it is cause for major concern by those with stakes in the integrity of the sport. If there is rampant concern about the legitimacy of the results, Paul and his team are right—boxing and sports will be dealt a serious blow. To reinforce that point, Bidarian, who was a guest on The Ariel Helwani Show, took critics like Morgan and Jones to task. 'When you definitively state that Jake is putting on staged or rigged fights, that's just defamation,' Bidarian said. 'You're causing substantial damage to his business, to MVP's business, and it's something that's 100 percent not true.' It seems clear the questions have reached a point where Paul and MVP can no longer brush them aside. Bidarian says that the questions around fight legitimacy have forced the team to hold difficult conversations with major brand partners like DAZN, Netflix, and Celsius. 'Our legal representation is looking at multiple individuals to go after,' he warned, indicating this won't be an isolated action. Spiro's presence takes the situation to another level. Known for representing some of the most recognizable figures in sports and entertainment, his reputation is built on high-stakes courtroom wins. He has helped Baldwin, Jay-Z, Musk, and Osaka overcome legal challenges that carried both public scrutiny and real consequences. Whether it's handling high-profile defamation claims or navigating complex reputational attacks, Spiro's track record makes it clear—if he's involved, the matter is serious. By bringing him in, Paul isn't just protecting his name—he's signaling that the stakes around his brand, partnerships, and fights are bigger than ever. As his profile continues to grow—and with another major fight potentially on the horizon with former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua—Paul is choosing to go on offense legally rather than continue absorbing criticism passively. Matchroom, DAZN and even boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh likely want nothing to do with fights or fighters that create questions about rigged results. That label is bad for business across all industries. The message Paul is sending here is: don't casually accuse me of something as serious as rigging fights unless you can and are willing to prove it in court.
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
UFC Vegas 109 Full Fight Card Set With Dolidze Vs Hernandez Main Event
The UFC is in Las Vegas for the second week in a row for Saturday's UFC Vegas 109 fight card. The event, which is headlined by a middleweight matchup between top-10 ranked contenders Roman Dolidze and Anthony Hernandez, headlines the UFC Apex fight card. The UFC Vegas 109 main card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+. UFC Vegas 109 Main Card Roman Dolidze vs. Anthony Hernandez - Middleweight Steve Erceg vs. Ode Osbourne - Bantamweight Iasmin Lucindo vs. Angela Hill - Strawweight Andre Fili vs. Christian Rodriguez - Featherweight Miles Johns vs. Jean Matsumoto - Bantamweight Eryk Anders vs. Christian Leroy Duncan - Middleweight UFC Vegas 109 Preliminary card Julius Walker vs. Raffael Cerqueira - Light heavyweight Elijah Smith vs. Toshiomi Kazama - Bantamweight Joselyne Edwards vs. Priscila Cachoeira - Women's bantamweight Uros Medic vs. Gilbert Urbina - Welterweight Gabriella Fernandes vs. Julija Stoliarenko - Women's flyweight Roman Dolidze (15-3) enters UFC Vegas 109 as the No. 9 ranked UFC middleweight. Dolidze joined the fight promotion in July 2020 going 2-1 in his first three outings with the UFC. Dolidze followed a March 2021 decision loss to Trevin Giles with a four-fight winning streak. That run ended with his loss to Vettori. A majority decision setback to Nassourdine Imavov followed. Dolidze followed that lackluster performance with a decision win over Anthony Smith at UFC 303. In October 2024, Dolidze scored a TKO win over Kevin Holland in a bout where Holland could not continue because of broken ribs. In his most recent outing, a five-round UFC Fight night main event, Dolidze bested former UFC 185-pound title challenger Marvin Vettori by decision. Anthony Hernandez (14-2-0-1) is riding a seven-fight winning streak ahead of the UFC Vegas 109 fight card. Hernandez joined the promotion in 2019, opening his UFC run with a 1-2 record. He has not lost since Kevin Holland stopped him via TKO in 2020. Hernandez had back-to-back 'Performance of the Night' bonus-winning victories in 2024. In those contests he stopped Roman Kopylov via submission and earned a TKO win over Michel Pereira in a UFC Fight Night main event scrap in October 2024. In his most recent trip to the Octagon, Hernandez defeated Brendan Allen via decision in February of this year. Hernandez is the No. 10 ranked UFC middleweight. We will have more on the UFC Vegas 109 fight card as fight night nears, including betting odds, picks, predictions and more. As well as full fight card results, reactions and highlights on fight night.
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Fox News
Raiders safety suffers broken leg in collision with Maxx Crosby during practice
Las Vegas Raiders safety Lonnie Johnson Jr. suffered a broken leg in a collision with star edge rusher Maxx Crosby at practice on Saturday. During a run play, running back Raheem Moster, who joined the Raiders this offseason, sprinted to the right. He was tackled by Crosby, who then accidentally rolled on the back Johnson's leg. Johnson immediately clutched his right leg, and the medical staff placed him on a cart after evaluating the situation on the Allegiant Stadium turf, which was seen in a video posted by ESPN. Raiders new head coach Pete Carroll told reporters that it was initially a "lower leg injury," though he didn't have all the details. Further reports indicate Johnson suffered a fractured fibula. While Johnson's status hasn't been made official by the Raiders, he did allude to its seriousness in posts on X. "Imma soldier chin up chest out," Johnson posted. "God got me." He also jokingly wrote on Sunday, "I wonder if I can get a handicap sticker now," with laughing emojis. This is Johnson's seventh year in the NFL after being taken by the Houston Texans in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Despite the high draft choice, the Texans moved on after three seasons with Johnson. Since then, he played for the Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers. Through 83 career games, Johnson has tallied four interceptions, 199 combined tackles and 15 combined tackles. Johnson recently said that, when he signed his one-year deal with the Raiders, Carroll was "blowing up my phone" and eventually told him he'd been trying for years to get him in the building. It was reported by ESPN that Johnson was getting first-team defensive reps while three safeties were spotted on the field, so this could be a considerable blow to the team. Johnson was expected to play in a rotational role this season.
