It seems literally everyone in the Philippines stopped to watch when Manny Pacquiao fought.
The Filipino boxing legend became a worldwide household name by beating Marco Antonio Barrera in 2003.
Manny Pacquiao was a massive superstar in his home country years before he cracked America and made millions fighting the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Ricky Hatton, and Oscar De La Hoya.
Just how big a deal he was is perhaps best explained by the crime stats of Manila on November 18, 2006.
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Manny Pacquiao KO froze crime
Manny Pacquiao completed his three-fight series with Mexican boxing legend Erik Morales in November 2006.
‘Pac-Man’ lost a close unanimous decision when they first fought in March 2005. Just 10 months later, he got revenge by scoring a TKO victory when he rematched Morales, who suffered the same fate when they fought for a third time.
Pacquiao scored a third-round KO win that was so big that crime in his home country nearly fell to zero.
The PhilStar reported that police in Manila received next-to-no crime reports for four hours on the day of Pacquiao vs. Morales 3.
“There is a zero significant and insignificant crimes listed at our RTOC in the duration of the boxing match,” Senior Superintendent Felipe Rojas Jr., head of the office’s regional investigation and detective management division, said at the time.
Several other districts in the Philippines claimed they also experienced zero crime during Pacquiao’s big win.
“That’s because even criminals watched the fight on TV,” Senior Superintendent Magtanggol Gatdula of the Quezon City Police District theorized.
Manny Pacquiao’s next fight
Manny Pacquiao ended his four-year boxing retirement when he fought Mario Barrios in July.
Pacquiao’s comeback ended in controversy when the judges scored his WBC welterweight title bout a majority draw.
The 47-year-old is now eyeing a new boxing record after honing in on an opponent for his next fight.
According to veteran promoter Sean Gibbons, Pacquiao wants to face WBA welterweight champion Rolly Romero and win back the belt he claimed by beating Keith Thurman to become the oldest 147lb champion of all time in 2019.
“The goal is still the same,” Gibbons told World Boxing News. “
“The goal remains to break his own record, to make history, to win a welterweight title.
“He wants to be the oldest person to do it at 47 years old. Rolly Romero has the WBA belt, so he is the target.”