Prime Minister: Mr. Pacquiao’s presence to support Cambodia’s sports and tourism sectors

Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, has stated that the presence of Mr. Manny Pacquiao, a world-class boxer and former Senator of the Philippines, will contribute to the enhancement of Cambodia’s sports and tourism sectors.

In their meeting yesterday afternoon, the Prime Minister extended a warm welcome to Mr. Manny Pacquiao’s second visit to Cambodia. Photo STPM

“Mr. Pacquiao’s presence will contribute to the promotion of Cambodia’s sports and tourism sectors, and to the development of Cambodia-Philippines relations through people-to-people connectivity”, the Cambodian Premier underlined.

Mr. Manny Pacquiao stated that during his stay in Cambodia, he will meet and discuss the spirit of boxing with famous Cambodian boxers and share his experience.

Mr. Manny Pacquiao paid his first visit to Cambodia in 2016, when he accompanied H.E. Rodrigo Duterte, the then President of the Republic of the Philippines, for a state visit to Cambodia.

Pacquiao is the only eight-division world champion in the history of boxing and has won twelve major world titles. He was the first boxer to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. He was the first boxer to win major world titles in four of the eight "glamour divisions" (flyweight, featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight). He is the only boxer to hold world championships across four decades (1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s). In July 2019, Pacquiao became the oldest welterweight world champion in history at the age of 40. He was also the first boxer in history to become a recognised four-time welterweight champion after defeating Keith Thurman to win the WBA (Super) welterweight title. Pacquiao's fights have generated a staggering $1.2 billion in revenue from his 25 pay-per-view bouts. Forbes confirms that he was the second highest paid athlete in the world in 2012 and 2015, and the eighth highest paid athlete of the 2010s.

Manny Pacquiao (right) vs. Chris Algieri. Photo Michael Howard CC

Pacquiao entered politics in 2010 when he was elected as the representative of Sarangani. He held this post for six years until he was elected and assumed office as a senator in 2016. He became the leader of the PDP–Laban party in 2020 (which is disputed since 2021). On 19 September 2021, Pacquiao officially declared his candidacy for President of the Philippines in the 2022 Philippine presidential election. He lost to Bongbong Marcos.

Pacquiao is also a talented basketball coach and player. He was the head coach and a player for the Philippine Basketball Association team Kia/Mahindra for three seasons from 2014 to 2017. He then went on to found the semi-professional Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. He has also starred in films and has presented television shows. In music, he has released multiple PARI-certified platinum albums and songs. His cover of "Sometimes When We Touch" peaked at 19 in the United States on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart after a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! He is an Evangelical Christian preacher, philanthropist, and entrepreneur.