MANNY Pacquiao turned over two significant memorabilia that helped shape his legendary boxing career for safekeeping at the Philippine Sports Museum.
The 47-year-old ring icon handed out three items from his collection, including the two fight trunks he wore when he won his seventh and eighth world division titles.
Given out were the boxing short he used when he dethroned Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto via 12th round stoppage to wrest the WBO welterweight champion, becoming the first and only seven-division world champion in history.
Generating 1.25 million buys, the sold-out fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas was the most-watched pay-per-view boxing event in 2009.
Also entrusted by the boxing Hall of Famer was his trunk used in the WBC light-middleweight title fight against Antonio Margarito of Mexico.
Despite being outsized in height (5.5 inches less) and weight (17 pounds less), the Filipino fighter brutally battered the Mexican for the full 12 rounds to win by lopsided unanimous decision to extend his record to an eighth world title.
And the third one was a WBC championship belt when Pacquiao won his first-ever world title from the renowned boxing body.
Pacquiao's latest well-deserved honor
Receiving the historical boxing paraphernalia from Pacquiao was no less than President Marcos Jr., who was accompanied in the special ceremony by First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos.
Also present was Philippine Sports Commission chairman Patrick Gregorio.
“What can I say about Manny Pacquiao and his boxing career that hasn’t been said before? Because lahat, all the superlatives that can possibly be used, all the praises that can possibly be had by an athlete have already been heaped upon him and well deserved,” said the president.
Gregorio said for his part, “We commit Manny Pacquiao's legacy to national memory to inspire and ignite future champions. Your sweat, your tears, your blood, your life. We can never thank you enough.”
The milestone highlights the institution’s commitment to safeguarding the nation’s athletic legacy and celebrating the achievements that shaped Philippine sports history.
Also present during the handover ceremony were PSC Commissioners Bong Coo, Fritz Gaston, and Walter Torres, PSC Executive Director Atty. Guillermo Iroy, and Philippine Paralympic Committee head Michael Barredo.
READ: Approaching 50, Pacquiao, Mayweather face off in Netflix-staged rematch
The ceremony came on the same day Netflix announced the rematch between Pacquiao and rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. set on Sept. 19 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
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