Manny Pacquiao is the only boxer to have won a world title in eight weight categories. He achieved great heights in boxing, became a successful politician in the Philippines, and pays a lot of attention to charity. But there are dark spots in his story too. Manny loved gambling, drinking alcohol, and was noticed with prostitutes. According to him, this could ruin not only his career and marriage but his life in general.
How Many Could Lose $100,000 in Poker?
Pacquiao moved to the US in 2001 to find a coach who could guide his talent. By that time, he was already the WBC champion in the 50.8 kg category, and then the WBC International world champion in the 55.3 kg category. However, it was not easy to find a suitable specialist. Manny refused to accept several coaches at once, but then he met a man who would later have a very strong influence on his career – Freddie Roach. Pacquiao is still loyal to Roach and is preparing for fights exclusively under his guidance. But in addition to world fame, Pacquiao acquired a gambling addiction.
The boxer’s younger brother Bobby once spoke of Manny’s frequent trips to the casinos in Southern California, where he could leave $100,000 at the poker table. It is unknown whether he visited the no deposit bonus casinos working online and how much money he could have lost. Once Pacquiao even played with a professional – Justin Smith. Smith spoke about that meeting in an interview with Assopoker.
This is what he told the journalists: “I played one of the most aggressive bluffs in my career, betting over $100,000 on the river. Manny thought about the move for almost five minutes before he folded and showed me his pair of aces. Then he began to beg to open my cards to him. There were no combinations, but I trusted my instincts and tried. I did not want to anger him – he insistently asked me to do this. I showed him that I was bluffing. He looked at the cards and saw no combinations, then looked me straight in the eyes and clenched his fists. At that moment, I realized that I had angered the man who took championship belts in eight different weight classes. Suddenly he stood up and came up to me, and then burst out laughing, shook my hand, and hugged me. He treated my move with respect because he loves to compete.”
Pacquiao Owes Millions of Dollars to the Casino
As Manny’s promoter Bob Arum told Sports Illustrated in 2012, the boxer once asked him for $2 million in advance to pay off gambling debts. In addition, Arum itted that he had transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars to gambling houses more than five times before to pay off Manny’s debts. “Manny had one of the worst habits of any athlete I have ever known. He was addicted to gambling,” Arum said.
