Pacquiao at 17 years old in L&M Gym, Manila (Pictures)

[Ryannn]

at the haters....

awesome pics bro.

[rawr]

raw pics. . . . .

[CholoPino]

Awesome, classic pics. You can see his humble beginnings and the hard work he puts in even from back then. It's no surprise he trains like crazy before a fight at the Wildcard gym. The work ethic has long been instilled in him. He deserves all the success that has come his way.

Thanks for these photos. They're timeless.

[Koolafu]

Beli Nays Pics..

LOL @ Haters

[mnbv]

great post, priceless photo.

[dibzvincent143]

pacquiao is still an inspiration to many

[MJ223]

How old is that tattoo???

[boxer.exposed]

How old is that tattoo???

20 years most probably.

[Grimgash]

Though I've seen these before it's still pretty awesome to see boxers at a young age, great pics.

[Nekeneg]

Awesome pictures and cool stories!!!

Went to L&M before it became MP towers, a lotta vandals there, mostly Pacs, LOL he's got funny stuff written there.

It was just near my place, one time went there to work out, dang, bike rollers and tyres, busted equip, knock off makeshift locker rooms, but really a down to earth place. Everyone knew each other, that place is just awesome.

The place is just loaded since Manny bought it in 2006 and renovated it and now is a complete gym with cheezy kolehiyalas to drool after a good workout.

@ Jonarie;

Way back before he won the flyweight belt (during hi BLOW-BY-BLOW days) he trained at that place all day, used to watch him and man was he really a freak of nature.

After his workouts, he'd hang out outside to enjoy sago't gulaman, turon and balut, and cracks jokes a lot.

When he returned to buy the place and renovate it and whenever he passes by there he would just have people line up to give out money to fellow boxers and the street food vendors there.

More personal experiences at the old L&M...

Whenever it rains hard, and the conditions of the gym was really busted up, raindrops always dripped onto the old pipes from the roof onto the floor, and some boxers take a slide or slips when they step on a puddle of raindrops, and sometimes when they wipe the floor dry it still was slippery.

So what the rest of the **** there did was pool some loose change to buy COKE or PEPSI from the store and sprinkle it all over the floor to have the floor slip free and their shoes (or sandals sometimes) to have better grip. After that its all business.

The tyres used for sit-up grips are usually donations from the nearby quiapo bikeshops, others from friends. Bodybags that burst out are complemented with lotsa masking tapes and stuffed with sand sometimes obtained from construction sites of rebuilding schools.

Nowadays the place is crowded with onlookers mostly awaiting if Manny's gonna pass by, and when he does the peeps are stomach full and given cash on hand.