Manny Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao trains during a workout session at The Venetian in Macau, Nov. 20, 2014. Getty Images/ Chris Hyde

Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao, who also serves as a senator in the Philippines, turns 39 on Sunday.

Pacquiao, popularly known as "Pacman," currently ranks 4th in BoxRec's greatest pound for pound boxers of all time. Last year, he stood second on ESPN's list of top pound-for-pound boxers of the past 25 years.

After he was re-elected in 2013 to the 16th Congress of the Philippines, Pacquiao was elected a senator in June 2016. Since then he has made headlines multiple times mostly because of his controversial stances such as condemning same-sex marriage and supporting Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s extrajudicial killings related to the war on drugs.

The boxing legend, who has always maintained he can be a world champion as well as a public servant, had some wise words to share over the years. Here are a few sayings by Pacquiao, as taken from the Brainy Quote and Mighty Fighter:

  • “I remember as a little boy I ate one meal a day and sometimes slept in the street. I will never forget that and it inspires me to fight hard, stay strong and remember all the people of my country, trying to achieve better for themselves.”
  • “Being a Christian means accepting Christ as your savior, your God. That's why you are called a 'Christian.' If you remove Christ, there's only 'ian' and that means 'I am nothing.'”
  • “In boxing you never know who you're going to face in ring.”
  • “I've always fought for my country, in my own way, showing that Filipinos are a strong people and can do anything that they put their minds to.”
  • “Boxing is a sport. We allow each other to hit each other, but I'm not treating my opponent like my enemy. We're doing a job to entertain people.”
  • “Only in death will I relinquish my belts.”
  • “My #1 driving force is my lord and savior Jesus Christ. Also my family, my wife and children.”
  • “God's words first... obey God's law first before considering the laws of man.”
  • “I have to give people time to take a picture, and sign autographs. I have to be generous to people. It is in my heart. Without that, I would not be Manny Pacquiao.”
  • “Human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”
  • “Well you know it's dangerous in politics, because especially in the Philippines there's a lot of killing in politics.”
  • “I'm not against gay people. I have a relative who is also gay. We can't help it if they were born that way.”
  • “I've already established my (political)machinery. It's like a car. It's fixed already. You just have to get in and drive it.”
  • “Sometimes I don’t feel good, but when you get in the ring, you can’t say ‘oh, I feel bad, can we stop?’”
  • “All those who are around me are the bridge to my success, so they are all important.”
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