By Krista Angela M. Montealegre, Reporter

Boxing superstar Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao has given Filipinos yet another reason to be proud of as he graces the cover of Time magazine.

Pacquiao, who is eyeing history with a record seventh title in as many weight divisions, is the first Filipino to make it to the cover since then-President Corazon Aquino in 1986 for toppling the strongman rule of President Ferdinand Marcos.

Pacquiao, who earlier made the Time 100 most influential list, will be on the cover of Time Asia entitled “The Great Hope,” but his five-page feature story will be included in the United States and global editions.

Time Asia will honor the pride of the Philippines in a story titled “The Meaning of Manny,” which acknowledged the southpaw from General Santos City as the “latest savior of boxing, a fighter with enough charisma, intelligence and back story to help rescue a sport lost in the labyrinth of pay-per-view.”

“I absolutely had no idea that when I started my career in boxing, to provide a better life for myself and my family, that I would now be where I am today and on the cover of Time magazine,” Pacquiao said in a report published at fighthype.com.

“What is happening to me now is the most humbling experience of my life. It is a great honor for me to be the face of my people and to let everyone know we are a small but mighty country. I have great pride for all of the Filipinos living throughout the world and it is these people that I fight for each and every time I step into the ring.”

From poverty to ‘demigod’

The feature will narrate Pacquiao’s humble beginnings, his quest for ring supremacy and his rise to global prominence as the Philippine “demigod” and boxing’s most loved fighter.

Pacquiao has cemented his iconic status in boxing with a demolition of legendary Oscar De La Hoya last December and British star Ricky Hatton in May. But outside the world of sports, the Filipino has also established himself as an international sports icon.

In downtown San Francisco in the United States, the world pound-for-pound king has a huge Nike billboard as part of the company’s advertising campaign that also includes athletes Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Maria Sharapova. He has thrown a ceremonial pitch in a Major League Baseball game and recently, he has appeared in US primetime television show Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Besides Aquino, who was featured four times, Pacquiao also joined former Filipino Presidents Manuel Quezon, Manuel Roxas, Ramon Magsaysay and Marcos as among those to grace the cover of Time.

Pacquiao also became the 10th boxer and the second non-heavyweight to be featured on the cover of the prestigious magazine behind Jack Demspey (1923), James Tunney (1926), Max Schmeling (1929), Primo Carnera (1931), Joe Louis (1941), Sugar Ray Robinson (1951), Cassius Clay (1963), Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier (1971), Muhammad Ali (1978) and Mike Tyson (1988).