Manny Pacquiao Among CNN's Top 20 Stories That Changed Our World

Manny Pacquiao Among CNN's Top 20 Stories That Changed Our World By Lem Satterfield Eight-division, 10-belt champion, Manny Pacquiao, the holder of the WBO's welterweight (147 pounds) and WBC's junior middleweight (154 pounds) titles, has been chosen by CNN as being among its Top 20 Stories That Changed Our World In 2010. During 2010, Pacquiao sandwiched two victories in the ring over as many different weight classes -- one each in March and November -- around an upset victory in May that earned him a congressional seat in his native Sarangani Province of the Philippines. Pacquiao is listed at No. 19 in the rankings, along with the following description: http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/life/stories-changed-our-world-2010-694444#comment-form The fighter of the last decade could be the politician of the next. In his second run at public office in May, Manny Pacquiao beat a heavily favored opponent from a powerful political family by a landslide in congressional elections held in the Philippine province of Sarangani. The beloved Filipino fighter was sworn in to the House of Representatives in June, but requested a leave of absence two months later to train for an upcoming bout with Antonio Margarito. A man whose cross-over appeal has transformed him into an international superstar, Pacquiao, on the day after Christmas, was named as Sports Illustrated's No. 1 boxing story for 2010 in a story authored by the magazine's columnist, Bryan Armen Graham. n addition, the 32-year-old Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 knockouts), who is coming off of an HBO televised, Nov. 13, unanimous decision over Antonio Margarito for the junior middleweight championship at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium, was among 10 of the premiere athletes photographed by Dec. 27 issue in SI. The victory over Margarito was the second-ever boxing event to be held at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium following Pacquiao's March 13, unanimous decision victory over Joshua Clottey (35-4, 20 KOs) before a crowd of 51,000 in the first-ever event to be held at the $1.2 million venue. Pacquiao takes a winning streak of 13 straight fights that includes eight knockouts in to a May 7, HBO pay per view televised defense of his WBO belt against 39-year-old, three-division, five-time titlist Shane Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs) that is slated for the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Mosley scored a ninth-round knockout in January of 2009 over Margarito, who stunned and nearly stopped Pacquiao with a sixth-round body shot, according to Pacquiao. Pacquiao had "bruises and bumps" after facing Margarito, according to his adviser, Michael Koncz, and spent some time being hospitalized and examined. Pacquiao dominated the bout, but he told FanHouse at the post-fight press conference that he felt "lucky to have survived" the sixth round, when Margarito (pictured below, at left) ripped a hard left hook to his rib cage that caused him to briefly double over in pain. "The sixth round, he got me with a good shot. I mean, it was a really good body shot," said Pacquiao, who displayed several abrasions on his face. "It was really a pinpoint shot. It was very painful." According to a story by Mark Vester of BoxingScene.com, Pacquiao expects a difficult fight from Mosley. "There's no easy fight out there anymore," said Pacquiao. "People said the fight against Margarito was going to be easy. Was it easy? You all saw what happened." Pacquiao's last loss was by a unanimous decision to Erik Morales in March of 2005, but the Filipino superstar has since stopped eight opponents, including four consecutively -- a spree comprised knockouts over David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto, respectively, in nine, eight, two, and, 12 rounds. Pacquaio's winning streak also includes having twice avenged the loss to Morales, whom he stopped in 10, and, three rounds, in January and November 2006. The run also boasts 12-round triumphs over Mexican legends Juan Manuel Marquez and Marco Antonio Barrera, as well as an eighth-round knockout of previously unbeaten Jorge Solis. In late October, two weeks prior to facing Margarito, Pacquiao was in Las Vegas, where the Filipino congressman attended a rally for United States Senator Harry Reid (pictured below, at left), D-Nevada, at the local Orr Middle School. Pacquiao interrupted workouts with four-time Trainer of the Year, Freddie Roach, at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Calif., to make the trip in support of the eventually re-elected Reid. "That was a great thing that Manny did for Harry, who is a very dear friend of mine. I think that Harry is really important to this country and that he has gotten really such a bad rap because of all of these Tea Party people," said Top Rank Promotions' CEO, Bob Arum. "So, you know, I explained to Manny what Harry stands for, and that's what Manny stands for, and so they really bonded together well." Reid was taken by the story of Pacquiao, who has been named Fighter of the Year in 2008, 2009 and 2010, as well as Fighter of the Decade. Pacquiao rose to stardom after being born into poverty, leaving a family that could no longer afford to feed him, spending homeless nights sleeping outside and days scrounging for food. "Manny Pacquiao and I came from different parts of the world, but we came on the same side of the street," Reid said of Pacquiao, who was featured on 60 Minutes on Nov. 8 -- a mere five days prior to vanquishing Margarito. "Manny fights for those who cannot fight for themselves," said Reid. "It's not enough to fight yourself. It's not enough to want to be a champion. We want to be champions for others." Pacquiao has been the subject of large, or front page features in Time Magazine, the New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and ESPN's Body Issue -- the latter along with athletes such as Dwight Howard and Serena Williams. In December of 2009, Pacquiao was named among Time Magazine's Top 25 People Who Mattered in 2009-- listed alphabetically right behind president Barack Obama. "There are thousands of politicians in this world. But there's only one top boxer," Bob Simon of 60 Minutes told Elie Seckbach of FanHouse. "Manny Pacquiao is the best of the best. We go for the best of the best. If he was the number two fighter in the world, we wouldn't cover him." Pacquiao has made three appearances on the Jimmy Kimmel Live Show, one each prior to defeating Cotto, Clottey and Margarito. http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2010/12/28/manny-pacquiao-among-cnns-top-20-stories-that-changed-our-world/