Manila: Emmanuel 'Manny' Pacquiao is idolised by tens of millions in the poverty-afflicted Philippines both for his punching power and as a national icon of hope after rising from the streets to the pinnacle of world boxing.


Manny Pacquiao speaks during a news conference at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas yesterday. Pic/AFP 

Known to his countrymen in the Asian archipelago as 'The National Fist', Pacquiao fights undefeated American Floyd Mayweather Jr on May 2 to decide who is the world's best "pound-for-pound" boxer.