Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao was born on December 17, 1978 in Kibawe, Bukidnon, Mindanao. He grew up and lives up to this day in General Santos City. His professional boxing career began in 1995 when he defeated Edmund Ignacio in a four-round bout. He has been a constant figure in the boxing arena for the next three years putting together an impressive string of victories before finally defeating Chartchai Sasakul in 1998 which earned him the World Boxing Championship (WBC) flyweight title.