MANNY PACQUIAO has won world boxing titles in eight different weight divisions, and is considered one of the

world's best boxers.

Synopsis
Born in the Philippines in 1978, Manny Pacquiao began boxing professionally at age 16. After beating Thailand's Chatchai
Sasakul to win the WBC flyweight championship in 1998, he continued to overwhelm his era's top competitors en route to
titles in eight separate weight divisions. Along with his boxing career, Pacquiao has twice been elected to the Philippine House
of Representatives.
Early Life
Filipino world boxing champion Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao was born on December 17, 1978, to parents Dionesia
Dapidran-Pacquiao and Rosalio Pacquiao. He was raised in Kibawe, which is located in the Bukidnon province of Mindanao,
Philippines.
When he was a teenager, Pacquiao left his family and boarded a ship to Manila, Philippines, in hopes of training as a boxer
and launching a career in the sport. Not long after, in January of 1995, his goals gained some traction; at age 16, he stepped
into the ring for his first professional bout, against Edmund Ignacio. Pacquiao won the fight in four rounds, in a unanimous
decision. The victory propelled him on a successful boxing run that would encompass the better part of two decades.
Boxing Career
In December 1998, Pacquiao won a bout against Chatchai Sasakul of Thailand, taking the World Boxing Council flyweight
titlehis first major championship. Moving to a higher weight division, he scored a sixth-round technical knockout of Lehlo
Ledwaba in 2001 to capture the International Boxing Federation junior featherweight title. He went on to win several highprofile bouts in the years thereafter, claiming world titles in a total of eight different weight divisions.
Ten years after his win against Sasakul, in December 2008, Pacquiao was named victor of an eight-round, non-title
welterweight bout against famed American boxer Oscar De La Hoya. The fight generated nearly $70 million from viewers of
pay-per-viewthe broadcasting format for most of Pacquiao's fights since the early 2000s.
Pacquiao went on to fight United Kingdom boxing star Ricky Hatton in May 2009, in a light welterweight division bout in Las
Vegas. Pacquiao won the fight by a knockout in the second round, taking The Ring's junior welterweight championship. Later
that year, in November, he beat Puerto Rico's Miguel Cotto in a 12-round bout, for the World Boxing Organization
welterweight titlean honor he defended in 2010, when he outlasted Ghanaian boxer Joshua Clottey in a 12-round fight.
On June 9, 2012, Pacquiao lost a 12-round bout with American boxer Timothy Bradley, in a 115-113 decision by three judges.
The fight was an incredible upset for boxing fans, as Pacquiao had won seven rounds to Bradley's five. The fight, broadcast on
pay-per-view, was watched by thousands of fans worldwide. The judges' decision spurred wide speculation, as both critics and
fans argued that Pacquiao should have been named the victor.
That December, Pacquiao suffered another difficult defeat. He was knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez in the sixth round of
their welterweight bout in Las Vegas. Pacquiao explained his loss by saying "I just got hit by a punch I didn't see," according
to the New York Daily News.
Pacquiao's impeccable footwork, speed and quick jabs have kept boxing fans on their feet. And his endearing smile, charm and
chiseled physique have only helped to boost his public appeal. In 2003, he was voted the Philippines' Person of the Year over
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He was also named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 2000s by the Boxing Writers
Association of America, among various other honors.
Following a win over Brandon Rios in November 2013, Pacquiao emerged the victor in an April 2014 rematch with Bradley to
regain the WBO welterweight title. He then scored his third straight win by holding off Chris Algieri in November.
In February 2015, it was announced that Pacquiao would fight undefeated American Floyd Mayweather at the MGM Grand
Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 2, 2015. Billed the "Fight of the Century," the long-anticipated bout between the era's two
signature boxers brought in a record purse via gate receipts and pay-per-view buys. Despite fighting with an injured right
shoulder, Pacquiao gamely went after Mayweather but was unable to land many effective punches. He lost a unanimous
decision to drop his record to 57-6-2.
Politics and Entertainment
In 2007, Pacquiao made his first attempt to enter politics, running for a seat in the House of Representatives of the Philippines.
He was defeated by incumbent Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio, and returned to life as a full-time boxer. In 2009, however,
Pacquiao formed a new Filipino political party, the People's Champ Movement, and again ran for a legislative seat. He won in
a landslide, beating opponent Roy Chiongbian to become the Sarangani province representative in May 2010. Three years
later, he earned a second term after running unopposed for relection.
Along with his boxing and political careers, Pacquiao has shown off his vocal abilities by releasing two albums and
collaborating on other tracks. He has appeared in several movies, and starred in the Philippine sitcom Show Me Da
Manny from 2009-11. A documentary about his life, Manny, was released in the United States in early 2015.
Pacquiao's wife, Jinkee, was elected vice governor of Sarangani in 2013. They have five children together.

PIA ALONZO ROMERO Y WURTZBACH[2] (born September 24, 1989),[3] once professionally known as Pia Romero,
[4][5][6]

is a Filipino-German actress, TV host, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 2015 on December 20,
2015 after becomingMiss Universe Philippines 2015 at the Binibining Pilipinas 2015 pageant on March 15, 2015.
EARLY LIFE AND BACKGROUND
Wurtzbach was born in Stuttgart, Baden-Wrttemberg, in then West Germany, to a German father and Filipino mother. Her
middle name of "Alonzo" is her mother's maiden name which is a naming practice in the Philippines and based upon Spanish
naming customs. From Iligan City, she later moved to Cagayan de Oro City[9] in the country's Northern Mindanao region where
she attended kindergarten at Kong Hua School and primary school at Corpus Christi.[10] Her parents separated when she was
11 years old and she became the family's main money-earner until the age of 18 by doing modeling and acting.[6] After being
raised in the Philippines, she spent several years in England.[11] She finished her secondary education at ABS-CBN Distance
Learning School in Quezon City,Metro Manila and studied culinary arts at the Center for Asian Culinary Studies in San Juan,
Metro Manila.[12][13][14]
Acting career
Wurtzbach is a professional model, actress, host and TV personality. She began acting at age four under the stage name Pia
Romero. Managed by ABS-CBN's theatrical agency, Star Magic, she was included on the Star Circle Batch 11. Among her TV
credits are the teen-oriented series K2BU, the concert variety program ASAP, the romance anthology Your Song, the sitcom
show Bora, and the drama series Sa Piling Mo.[14][15][16][17] She appeared in films such as Kung Ako Na Lang Sana (2003), All My
Life (2004), and All About Love (2006).[15] She went on to become a stylist, makeup artist and beauty writer for Philippine Daily
Inquirer's 2bUsection.[12][18]
Wurtzbach speaks fluent Cebuano, English and Tagalog.[19] She also speaks basic German, describing it as "Enough to get
myself abratwurst".

PAGEANTRY
Binibining Pilipinas
Wurtzbach joined the Binibining Pilipinas Pageant three times before winning the Binibining Pilipinas Universe title.
During Binibining Pilipinas 2013, she was named as the first Runner-up because she took fifth place.[22] She joined
the Binibining Pilipinas 2014, but only placed in the top 15.[23] A controversy erupted when she failed to win any title following
her question-and-answer portion.[11] She was asked a question in Tagalog by a Filipino judge, Senator Sonny Angara, which she
answered in Tagalog.[11] Online commentators wondered if the question and answer in Tagalog cost her points from the
international judges and, therefore, any title that year.[11] On her third attempt for the title in 2015, she won the highest title, Miss
Universe Philippines, and went on to compete in the Miss Universe 2015 Pageant.[24]

MISS UNIVERSE 2015

Wurtzbach represented the Philippines in the Miss Universe 2015 held on December 20, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada, United
States. At the end of the show, host Steve Harvey mistakenly announced Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutirrez as the winner.
However, after Gutirrez's crowning, Harvey returned to the stage and stated that he had misread the results and that
Wurtzbach was really Miss Universe 2015. Paulina Vega (Miss Universe 2014) then removed the crown from Gutirrez's head
and placed it on Wurtzbach's head.
Wurtzbach is the third Miss Universe from the Philippines after Gloria Diaz in 1969, and Margarita Moran in 1973.[27][28][29]
On January 21, 2016, she traveled to Bali, Indonesia to shoot a commercial for C 1000, a vitamin brand available in Indonesia.
[30]
Two days later, on January 23, 2016, she arrived in the Philippines for a week-long homecoming celebration with visits to the
cities of Manila, Makati, Pasay and Quezon City. She also had courtesy calls to the Congress of the Philippines, Senate of the
Philippines and Malacaang Palace.[31][32]
On February 1, 2016, she arrived in San Francisco to fulfill her duties as Inside Edition's special correspondent for Super Bowl
50.[33][34] While in San Francisco, she was also reunited with Janine Tugonon, Miss Universe 2012 1st Runner-up from the
Philippines.[35]
On February 28, 2016, she travelled to Toronto, Canada to deliver a speech against bullying at the Speakers Forum for the
International Students of the Language Academy of Canada wherein she shared some of her childhood experiences as a victim

of bullying. During her stay in Canada, she was reunited with Miss Universe Canada 2015, Paola Nunez Valdez. She also met
and gave some advice to the contestants of Miss Universe Canada 2016
On March 25, 2016, Wurtzbach returned to the Philippines for an unannounced visit to take care of some personal things
including renewing her Philippine passport, charity works and film a new commercial for Philippine Airlines.[40][41][42][43] She also
met and gave advice to the candidates ofBinibining Pilipinas 2016 during their press presentation.[44][45][46] On April 12, 2016 she
came back to the Philippines for the Binibining Pilipinas 2016 pageant[47] and on April 17 crowned her successor Maxine
Medina as Miss Universe Philippines 2016 during the coronation night.[48] During the pageant she was reunited with Miss
Myanmar 2015, May Barani Thaw and Miss Malaysia 2015, Vanessa Tevi while Miss Universe 2015 2nd runner-upOlivia
Jordan served as a judge.[49] Wurtzbach's farewell speech and walk at Binibining Pilipinas 2016 as Miss Universe Philippines
2015, trended at social media with enormous hits.[50]
On April 21, 2016, Wurtzbach arrived in Peru to attend Miss Peru 2016 pageant where she served as a judge.[51][52] She also
had a press conference a day before the pageant and was greeted by the Lima City Mayor, Luis Castaneda and received an
honor of being "The Distinguished Guest of Lima".[53] Wurtzbach along with Miss Peru 2015, Laura Spoya crowned Valeria
Piazza, Miss Peru 2016.[54]
On April 27, 2016, Wurtzbach threw out the ceremonial first pitch for the New York Mets.[55]
On May 27, 2016, Wurtzbach travelled to Machala, Ecuador to help the victims of the recent earthquake that killed the lives of
at least 600 people.[56][57] She was welcomed by the mayor of Machala, Carlos Falquez Batallas to the city and was named as
an honorary volunteer of the Guayas Red Cross wherein she was invited to participate in the global appeal of raise resources to
build 6,000 homes for the earthquake victims.[58]She was also given a chance to meet Connie Jimnez, Miss Ecuador
2016 during her visit.[59]
In June 2016, Wurtzbach represented the Philippines and the Miss Universe Organization in a high-level meeting of the United
Nations that aimed at ending AIDS.