Manny Pacquiao is widely regarded by fans as one of the best boxers to have stepped inside the ring in this era. The Philippine boxer is the only one to have won major titles in eight different weight classes. Therefore the above fact is a testimony of Pac-Man’s greatness in the sport.
However, Pacquiao has had his share of downfalls in the sport in his 26-year splendid career. Owing to the fact, that he has lost several boxing matches and suffered many injuries in his entire career. As a result, let’s take a look at Manny Pacquiao’s career losses.
Manny Pacquiao’s first loss against Rustico Torrecampo
After making his pro boxing debut in 1995, Manny Pacquiao won ten straight fights in the light flyweight division. As a result, Pac-Man decided to fight in the flyweight weight class in 1996 to find a new challenge. He faced Rustico Torrecampo who was an experienced boxer in this new weight class.
However, Manny was over the specified catchweight by 1 lb and as a result, he faced a penalty for exceeding the weight limit. Pacquiao had to wear eight-ounce gloves whereas Rustico wore six-ounce gloves. This penalty proved to be a massive disadvantage as Pac-Man suffered his first defeat in the boxing ring.
Rustico Torrecampo knocked him out in the third round and the Philippine boxer was unable to get up before the referee’s ten count. Therefore Manny suffered his first loss against Torrecampo in 1996 in front of his home country.
The second loss of Manny Pacquiao against Boonsai Sangsurat
Since his loss against Rustico Torrecampo, Manny Pacquaio won several fights and won the OBPF Fly title in 1997. Two years later he also won the WBC World Fly title against Gabriel Mira via stoppage.
After winning the WBC belt he was set to make his first WBC title defense against Boonsai Sangsurat in the same year. Just like his first loss, Pac-Man was 1 lb over the flyweight limit of 112 lbs. As a result, Manny’s flyweight title was declared vacant before the fight. Moreover, the title was at stake for Sangsurat only.
To make matters worse, Boongsai Sangsurat knocked Pacquiao out with a body shot in the third round of the bout. As a result, Manny Pacquiao lost his second fight along with his flyweight title.
Manny Pacquiao’s First Unanimous decision Loss in his Career
After losing his flyweight title to Boongsai Sangsurat, Manny Pacquiao moved up a division and won the WBC International super bantamweight title in his next bout. Following the title win, the Philippine boxer did not lose a single bout in his next 14 fights and became a prominent name in the sport.
Further, he also claimed the IBF and WBO bantamweight titles. Consequently, he became the number one contender for the vacant WBC and IBA super featherweight title. He faced off against Erik Morales also known as ‘El Terrible‘ who was ranked two in the featherweight rankings in 2005.
The two boxers battled it out for twelve rounds in what was an exciting contest from start to finish. However, Morales dominated the entire bout and won against Manny via unanimous decision. Although Pacquiao got his revenge as he defeated El Terrible twice via KO and TKO in 2006.
A controversial loss for Manny Pacquiao against Timothy Bradley Jr
By 2010, Manny Pacquiao had become the only boxer in the history of the sport to have won 12 major titles in 8 different weight classes. Pac-Man was in the prime form of his life and many fans considered him to be the best boxer at that time. However, while defending his WBO welterweight title, he suffered a shocking split decision loss against Timothy Bradley Jr in 2012.
It was a fairly competitive fight and many fans were angered by the decision of the judges as they believed that the Philippine boxer had done enough to win the fight. Owing to the fact, that Manny had out-landed Timothy in total punches as well as power punches.
Juan Manuel Marquez finishes Manny Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez had a violent rivalry with each other and ended up facing four times in their respective careers. All their bouts were extremely competitive and as a result, fans were highly entertained by this rivalry. The two boxers first fought in 2004 and the match ended as a draw.
Therefore Pacquiao and Marquez fought two more times in 2008 and 2011 where the Pac-Man emerged victorious via split decision and majority decision respectively. However, the Mexican fighter finally got his revenge against Manny when the two stepped in the ring for the fourth time in 2012.
Dinamita’s face was busted open by Pac-Man during this face-off. However, he delivered a vicious right hook to the Philippine boxer in the dying seconds of the sixth round to secure an emphatic come-back knockout victory. As a result, 2012 was a terrible year for Manny Pacquiao as he lost his fight against Timothy Bradley Jr and also suffered a brutal defeat against his bitter rival Juan Manuel Marquez.
Floyd Mayweather outclasses Manny Pacquiao to hand him his Sixth Defeat
Boxing fans across the world were waiting for this mouthwatering clash between legends Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao for several years. Their wishes came true as this mega-fight took place in the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas in 2015.
What made this contest more exciting is the fact that Floyd Mayweather’s winning streak was on the line against a highly skilled and decorated fighter in the form of Manny Pacquiao. As a result, fans had expected that this bout would turn out to be a nail-biting contest.
However, Floyd Mayweather showcased his class with his impeccable defense and accurate striking throughout the fight. As a result, he ended up winning the fight via unanimous decision with all judges scoring the contest in his favor.
In the end, this fight was one of the biggest sporting events in history and it still holds the record for the highest-grossing event with 4.6 million pay-per-view buys.
Another Controversial Loss for Manny Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao suffered a controversial loss against Jeff Horn in 2017. Many fans criticized the judges for their horrible decision-making as they awarded a unanimous decision win to Jeff Horn. As a result, the judges for that bout faced a ton of backlash from Pac-man’s fans and several analysts because the Philippine boxer had clearly dominated the fight.
Moreover, Manny Pacquiao had landed 182 out of 572 strikes whereas Jeff Horn landed a mere 92 punches in comparison. Therefore Pac-Man’s seventh loss was very controversial and one could even claim that the result of this fight was a daylight robbery against the Filipino.
Nonetheless, despite suffering seven losses in his career, Manny Pacquiao has achieved several feats that only a few boxers would dream of achieving. Hence, the Philippines boxer is one of the best fighters to have graced the sport of boxing.
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