Pacquiao relives life in poverty, death of friend in the ring in mini docu

Just before he stepped into the ring, he held his lifeless friend in his arms.

But instead of turning back from the dangers of the sport that he loved, the 16-year-old Manny Pacquiao fought on to become one of boxing’s greatest of all time.

In a mini documentary by ESPN’s Sports Center, Pacquiao relived how the demise of Eugene Barutag, a close friend, in a boxing match actually lit a fire under him.

“He was my close friend. I felt so bad at that time. I [kept on telling you], ‘you can do it!'” Pacquiao said in the SCFeature where a clip of the lethal fight produced by Blow by Blow was shown.

But in my mind, [I said]  ‘no, I want to fight.’ Even though he died, [I thought] I will  continue our dream, our battle.”

20 years after and far removed from fighting in small and dingy boxing gyms, Pacquiao is facing Floyd Mayweather Jr. in what is considered as the richest fight in history on May 2.

The video also showed the humble beginnings of the Filipino boxing champion, when earning P100 from a boxing match still went a long way in feeding Pacquiao’s family.

A self-made man, Pacquiao said that he hopes to inspire others with his rags-to-riches story.

“I want to inspire them not to surrender whatever [the] circumstances [are]. I want to encourage them that there’s hope,” Pacquiao said.