title: Atrangi Re

text: In July 2019, Sara Ali Khan and Hrithik Roshan were considered for playing the other leading characters. An article from "Mumbai Mirror", stated the film as "a love story revolving around the three lead characters". Roshan, denied his part in the film, saying that he was not contacted by Rai about his role in the film, The team decided to approach Ajay Devgn for the another leading role, before Akshay Kumar signed in as the third lead. Rai stated that His role was said to be an extended cameo which Rai had refuted and further stated that "it is a special character which is demanded for the narrative". In an interview with "Bombay Times", Kumar added: " I am thrilled to be working with Aanand L Rai, as I have always admired the way he has showcased his stories. When he narrated the film to me, I said ‘yes’ within 10 minutes. It is a challenging character to play, but at the same time, it is such a special role that my heart just couldn't say ‘no’ to it. I will remember it for the rest of my life." Dimple Hayathi underwent casting and look test for being paired alongside the character played by Dhanush in Mumbai by October 2020.


title: Atrangi Re

text: As per Rai, on an unusual casting that drew criticism and curiosity, he stated that "I knew that Khan would be fitting in Rinku, because she has got all the potential to get the character right. Honesty, straightforwardness, innocence… are some of the qualities that were required to play Rinku and these come naturally to her. The way she has played the character I can’t imagine anyone else doing it." Talking on character played by Kumar, Rai said: "Kumar is said to have a small role in the film but his belief in the director and Rai's “strong understanding of complex human emotions”. Nimrat Kaur was considered to play a pivotal role, and was also present at the shooting schedule in Delhi, however, her portion was not included in the film.


title: Atrangi Re

text: The team planned to begin shooting for the film at March 2020 and continue for 80–90 days, with the Bihar schedule being canned first and the rest of the shooting in Madurai will begin in mid-April 2020. However, filming began on 5 March 2020 at Varanasi, where the first shot canned at Kashi railway station, near Rajghat. Filming was announced for a 20-day schedule, followed by scenes planned outskirts of Varanasi. Reports stated that "Khan plays a character from Bihar and will be seen in a double role in the film. A few scenes were shot on the railway track with water sprinklers creating a rain sequence. A chase scene was also shot, where Khan's character was chased by men on a vehicle. Dhanush and the film’s writer, were also present during the shoot." Filming was halted by 19 March 2020 due to COVID-19 outbreak in India. Dhanush expressed the stagnation stating that "the entire first schedule went into us settling down and getting into the skin of the character, understanding the world of "Atrangi Re". But as we [Dhanush and Khan] were going to dive into the world, the lockdown happened. We didn't do anything for about six months and the stagnation was traumatic".


title: Atrangi Re

text: In July 2020, it was reported that the film might restart shooting from October 2020. Rai had planned to shoot the film in real locations across Madurai, Delhi and Mumbai, as other films were being shot at confined studio set-up due to the pandemic restrictions. The team planned to set up the shooting schedule at Madurai first and return to Delhi for continuation. Filming resumed on 5 October 2020, with the second schedule being shot at Madurai. The schedule featuring Dhanush, Khan and Dimple Hayathi was canned for 15–20 days.


title: Atrangi Re

text: In November 2020, Dhanush and Sara resumed shooting for the final schedule in Delhi. After a five-day shoot in Delhi, the team moved to Greater Noida on 29 November 2020. A sequence featuring the lead actors, were shot at the outdoors of Sharda University with the students and locals featuring as extras. The 'Family Court' scene was shot in Galgotias University Campus One. On 4 December, Akshay Kumar joined the shooting for the film at the location after completing the shooting for "Bell Bottom" (2021). The filming continued at Delhi NCR, with the lead actors participating the schedule for 25 days in and around Delhi. On 21 December, the team shifted to shoot few sequences at Agra; several sequences featuring the lead cast were shot at the Taj Mahal, including, one with a song shoot featuring Akshay. An estimate 150 people were gathered for the scene. Later, few sequences were being shot at Ghatia Market. On 29 December, Dhanush had completed shooting for his portions of the film. In March 2021, a seven-day shooting schedule took place in Mumbai, with the other lead actors joining the schedule. Filming was completed by 27 March 2021.


title: Atrangi Re

text: The original soundtrack and film score to "Atrangi Re" was composed by A. R. Rahman with lyrics written by Irshad Kamil. Rahman said that he created the soundtrack with the on-screen and off-screen personas of the lead actors in mind. He further curated the songs and score with Rai's vision on bringing villages to life and offering an international perspective. As a result, he worked on folk-classical based compositions for the film's songs. The music reflects the moods and sentiments of the characters as the film plot travels across India.


title: Atrangi Re

text: The songs "Chaka Chak" and "Rait Zara Si" were released as singles, before the seven-song soundtrack album being released by T-Series on 6 December 2021. The release coincided with a promotional launch event held in Mumbai with the attendance of the cast and crew, and a musical concert by Rahman and his team. The album received positive response with "Financial Express" summed up several critics' reviews, calling the soundtrack "heart-touching music rendered by veteran music composer A. R. Rahman.". Rahman won IIFA Awards for Best music direction and best background score.


title: Atrangi Re

text: The film was earlier set for a theatrical release on Valentine's Day (14 February 2021), as per the official announcement of the film. However, production delays due to the COVID-19 lockdown in India forced the makers to postpone the release to 6 August 2021. It did not release, as planned, due to the uncertainty prevailing over the reopening of theatres in Maharashtra. In September 2021, it was reported that the film might have a direct-to-digital release, despite the resumption of theatrical business in Maharashtra from October 2021. Akshay Kumar also hinted the possibilities of it, citing the saturation of big-budget theatrical release might impacts its collections, and further said that: "The film has a different subject and storyline, which has never been heard before. For me and Rai, the most suited platform must be chosen for the film." In mid-November 2021, the producers announced that the film will have a digital release through Disney+ Hotstar on the occasion of Christmas Eve (24 December 2021). The film was also dubbed in Tamil and released under the title "Galatta Kalyaanam" and Sara Ali Khan's as well as Akshay Kumar's voice in the Tamil version was dubbed by Chinmayi and Mano respectively. The title of the Tamil version was taken from Sivaji Ganesan's 1968 film of the same name. The Tamil-version of the film was also released on the same day, coinciding with the premiere of the Hindi version.


title: Atrangi Re

text: According to a survey report, more than 28 million households have watched the film, leading to be the most viewed content on a digital platform during 20–26 December 2021. The film has garnered the highest opening day viewership in their streaming service, thereby breaking the viewership records of "Laxmii" (2020), "Hungama 2" and "Shiddat" (2021).


title: Atrangi Re

text: In his review for "Filmfare", Devesh Sharma gave a verdict: "an unusual love story buoyed by some fine performances and hummable music. Aanand L Rai has found his rhythm again with this entertaining film which also packs a message". He assigned the film 3.5 stars (out of 5). In her review for the "Hindustan Times", Monika Kukreja stated it as "a refreshingly different and unique love story that so beautifully breaks through the clutter". Critics based at "Bollywood Hungama" gave the film 3 stars out of 5. They said: "On the whole, the film rests on a very unconventional plot. But it addresses a pertinent topic, that is, mental health which is tackled with sensitivity. Also, the performances, the musical score and several well-executed scenes turn the film into a watchable fare." Hiren Kotwani, in his review for "The Times of India" gave 3.5 out of 5 stars, he wrote: "While there are parts of the movie that will leave you baffled and curious for more details, it’s not to say that the film doesn’t entirely entertain. Here's a unique story at hand, an interesting team of actors, a refreshing soundtrack and some fine performances." In his critical review for "Koimoi", Umesh Punwani assigned the film 3.5 stars out of 5 and stated: "The brilliance of Himanshu Sharma's script is that it doesn't rely much on 'the twist' as it keeps building to one soul-fatiguing climax." Prateek Sur, a critic based at "Outlook Magazine", stated "The twist is the triangular love story is what makes it worth a watch". Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com gave 3 stars (out of 5) to the film saying "Between its glamorous state of denial, hastily concocted back stories, dubious scientific solutions, "Om Shanti Om"-esque high drama of a climax and a zigzag love story, "Atrangi Re" is as fascinating as it is foolhardy."


title: Atrangi Re

text: Critic Manohar Basu while reviewing the film for Mid-Day, assigned 2.5 stars out of 5, saying "Atrangi Re is ridiculous. It is mind bogglingly frustrating, especially in the first hour, due to its disjointed and contrived plot [...] While admire Rai’s courage to attempt a complex film that’s so out-of-the-box. But what his film lacks is an in-depth understanding of mental health disorders — schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, which in 2021 is both ignorant and unacceptable." Avinash Ramachandran of "The New Indian Express" wrote: "Atrangi Re too deals with an all-encompassing love that crosses all physical and mental boundaries. Just like all their films, the concept too is a fascinating one even if it borders on the old-fashioned [...] However, despite a solid cast, brilliant music, and spectacular visuals, this time around the successful collaboration misses the target by quite a distance." He awarded the film 2.5 out of 5 stars. Saibal Chatterjee of "NDTV" awarded the film a score of 2 stars (out of 5) stating: ""Atrangi Re", demands an unconscionable degree of willing suspension of disbelief as is it lets go off all semblance of logic. The contrived storyline is intended to tug at our heartstrings — all it does is lurch from one difficult-to-digest situation to another to establish the depth of Rinku's love for Sajjad and the strength of Vishu's resolve in a 'unique' love triangle that for the most part goes round in baffling and tedious circles."


title: Atrangi Re

text: Anupama Chopra of "Film Companion" wrote: "The story takes unexpected turns. It hopscotches across the country and touches on myriad subjects, while the film is about the transformative power of love. Aanand and Himanshu celebrate the purity of the emotion and the beauty in being atrangi or eccentric. The ambition is laudable but the result is a bit of a mess." Rahul Desai, writing for the same website, panned the film, saying "The film is the kind of bewildering disaster that nearly turns failure into an artform." Critic Shubhra Gupta of "The Indian Express" stated "The film was meant to be a meaningful magical mystery tour, but ends up as a misfire". Anuj Kumar of "The Hindu" wrote: "In a bid to move beyond the obvious, director Aanand L Rai has bloated a beautiful little thought into a contrived mess, along with a disturbing depiction of mental illness. Even Dhanush can’t save this weird take on love." In his review for "Mint", Uday Bhatia stated the film as "messy and incoherent, which boldly goes to places it has no idea how to escape from".


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: Fargo is a 1996 black comedy crime film written, produced and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Frances McDormand stars as Marge Gunderson, a pregnant Minnesota police chief investigating a triple homicide that takes place after a desperate car salesman (William H. Macy) hires two criminals (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife in order to extort a hefty ransom from her wealthy father (Harve Presnell). The film was an American-British co-production.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: Filmed in the United States during the end of 1995, "Fargo" premiered at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, where Joel Coen won the festival's "Prix de la mise en scène" (Best Director Award) and the film was nominated for the Palme d'Or. The film was both a commercial and critical success, earning particular acclaim for the Coens' direction and script and the performances of McDormand, Macy, and Buscemi. "Fargo" received seven Oscar nominations at the 69th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor for Macy, winning two: Best Actress for McDormand and Best Original Screenplay for the Coens.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: The film was selected in 2006 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant"—one of only seven films designated in its first year of eligibility. In 1998, the American Film Institute named it one of the 100 greatest American films in history (being the most recent film on the list up to that point) but it was subsequently de-listed in 2007. A Coen-produced FX television series of the same name, inspired by the film


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: In 1987, Jerry Lundegaard, the executive sales manager of a Minneapolis Oldsmobile dealership owned by his father-in-law, Wade Gustafson, is desperate for money. On the advice of mechanic and convicted felon Shep Proudfoot, Jerry travels to Fargo, North Dakota, and hires Carl Showalter and Gaear Grimsrud to kidnap his wife, Jean. He gives them a new Cutlass Ciera and promises them half of the $80,000 ransom he says he intends to extract from Wade.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: Jerry pitches Wade a lucrative real estate deal and believes Wade has agreed to lend him $750,000 to finance it, so he attempts to call off the kidnapping. Wade and his accountant Stan Grossman inform Jerry that Wade will make the deal himself and pay Jerry only a modest finder's fee.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: Carl and Gaear kidnap Jean and transport her to a remote cabin in Moose Lake. A state trooper stops them near Brainerd for not displaying temporary registration tags. The trooper rejects Carl's clumsy bribe attempt and hears Jean whimpering in the back seat. Gaear shoots him, then chases down and kills two passers-by who witnessed the scene.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: The following morning, Brainerd police chief Marge Gunderson, who is seven months pregnant, begins investigating. She correctly deduces that the dead trooper was ticketing a car with dealer plates. She later learns that two men driving a dealership vehicle checked into the nearby Blue Ox Motel with two call girls and placed a call to Proudfoot. After questioning the girls, Marge visits Wade's dealership, where Proudfoot feigns ignorance and Jerry insists no cars are missing. While in Minneapolis, Marge reconnects with Mike Yanagita, a high school classmate, who awkwardly tries to romance her before breaking down and saying his wife has died.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: Jerry tells Wade the kidnappers have demanded $1 million and will deal only through him. In light of the three murders, Carl demands Jerry hand over all of the $80,000 he believes is the entire ransom. Carl is with another call girl in a Minneapolis hotel room when Proudfoot enters and attacks him for bringing Proudfoot to the attention of the police. Carl then calls Jerry and orders him to deliver the ransom immediately. Wade insists on bringing it and meets Carl at a parking garage. He refuses to hand over the money without seeing his daughter, so an enraged Carl shoots him. Wade is armed and fires back, wounding Carl in the jaw. Carl kills Wade and a garage attendant, then drives away with the briefcase containing the ransom.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: On the way to Moose Lake, Carl discovers the briefcase contains $1 million. He removes $80,000 to split with Gaear, then buries the rest in the snow alongside the highway. At the cabin, Carl finds that Gaear killed Jean because she would not be quiet. Carl says they should split up and leave immediately, and they argue over who will keep the Ciera. Carl uses his injury as justification, shouts insults at Gaear, and attempts to take the vehicle. Gaear kills Carl with an axe.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: Marge learns from a friend that Yanagita lied; he has no wife and is mentally ill. Reflecting on this, Marge returns to Wade's dealership. Jerry nervously insists no cars are missing and promises to double-check his inventory. Marge sees Jerry driving off the lot and calls the state police.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: Marge drives to Moose Lake after a local bartender reports having heard a "funny-looking guy" brag about killing someone. She drives by the cabin, sees the Ciera, then discovers Gaear feeding Carl's dismembered body into a woodchipper. Gaear attempts to flee, but Marge shoots him in the leg and arrests him. Shortly afterwards, Jerry is arrested at a motel outside Bismarck, North Dakota.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: Marge's husband, Norm, tells her the Postal Service has selected his painting of a mallard for a three cent postage stamp and complains that his friend's painting won the competition for a twenty-nine cent stamp. Marge reminds him that many people use smaller denomination stamps whenever prices increase and they need to make up the difference between the face value of their old stamps and the new cost of first class postage. Norm is reassured, and the couple happily anticipates the birth of their child.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: The Coens initially considered William H. Macy for a smaller role, but they were so impressed by his reading that they asked him to come back in and read for the role of Jerry. According to Macy, he was very persistent in getting the role, saying: "I found out that they [the Coen brothers] were auditioning in New York still, so I got my jolly, jolly Lutheran ass on an airplane and walked in and said, 'I want to read again because I'm scared you're going to screw this up and hire someone else.' I actually said that. You know, you can't play that card too often as an actor. Sometimes it just blows up in your face, but I said, 'Guys, this is my role. I want this. Ethan Coen later remarked, "I don't think either of us [Coen brothers] realised what a tough acting challenge we were handing Bill Macy with this part. Jerry's a fascinating mix of the completely ingenuous and the utterly deceitful. Yet he's also guileless; even though he set these horrible events in motion, he's surprised when they go wrong."


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: Frances McDormand learned how to use and fire a gun, spent days talking with a pregnant police officer and developed a backstory for her character along with John Carroll Lynch. After seeing the movie, McDormand noted that much of Marge was modeled on her sister Dorothy who is a Disciples of Christ minister and chaplain.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: "Fargo" was filmed during the winter of 1995, mainly in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and around Pembina County, North Dakota. Due to unusually low snowfall totals in central and southern Minnesota that winter, scenes requiring snow-covered landscapes had to be shot in northern Minnesota and northeastern North Dakota, though not in or near the actual towns of Fargo and Brainerd.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: Jerry's initial meeting with Carl and Gaear was shot at a pool hall and bar called The King of Clubs in the northeast section of Minneapolis. It was demolished in 2003, along with most other buildings on that block of Central Avenue, and replaced by low-income housing. Gustafson's auto dealership was actually Wally McCarthy Oldsmobile in Richfield, a southern suburb of Minneapolis. The site is now occupied by Best Buy's national corporate headquarters. The 24-foot Paul Bunyan statue was built for the film (and subsequently dismantled) on Pembina County Highway 1, four miles west of Bathgate, North Dakota, near the Canadian border. The Blue Ox motel/truckstop was Stockmen's Truck Stop in South St. Paul, which is still in business. Ember's, the restaurant where Jerry discusses the ransom drop with Gustafson, was located in St. Louis Park, the Coens' hometown; the building now houses a medical outpatient treatment center.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: The Lakeside Club, where Marge interviewed the two call girls, was a family restaurant—now closed—in Mahtomedi, Minnesota. The kidnappers' Moose Lake hideout actually stood on the shore of Square Lake, near May, Minnesota. The cabin was relocated to Barnes, Wisconsin, in 2002. The Edina police station where the interior police headquarters scenes were filmed is still in operation, but has been completely rebuilt. The Carlton Celebrity Room was an actual venue in Bloomington, Minnesota, and José Feliciano did once appear there, but it had been closed for almost ten years when filming began. The Feliciano scene was shot at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre in Chanhassen, near Minneapolis. The ransom drop was filmed in two adjacent parking garages on South 8th Street in downtown Minneapolis. Scenes in the Lundegaards' kitchen were shot in a private home on Pillsbury Avenue in Minneapolis, and the house where Mr. Mohra described the "funny looking little guy" to police is in Hallock, in northwest Minnesota. The motel "outside of Bismarck", where the police finally catch up with Jerry, is the Hitching Post Motel in Forest Lake, north of Minneapolis.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: While none of "Fargo" was actually filmed in Fargo, the Fargo-Moorhead Convention & Visitors Bureau exhibits original script copies and several props used in the film, including the wood chipper prop. After the movie's release, by some accounts, Brainerd was invaded by shovel-toting moviegoers searching for the buried ransom cash, inspired by the spurious "based-on-a-true-story" announcement in the opening credits. In 2001, a Japanese woman named Takako Konishi was found frozen to death near Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. A rumor emerged that she had been searching for the buried money, but her death was actually ruled a suicide.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: As with all the Coen brothers' films, except "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and "Inside Llewyn Davis", the score to "Fargo" is by Carter Burwell. The main musical motif is based on a Norwegian folk song, "The Lost Sheep" ().


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: Other songs featured in the film include: "Big City" by Merle Haggard, heard in the King of Clubs while Jerry meets with Carl and Gaear; "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" by Boy George, which plays in the garage as Shep works, and "Let's Find Each Other Tonight", a live nightclub performance by José Feliciano that is viewed by Carl and a female escort. In the diner, when Jerry is urging Wade not to get police involved in his wife's kidnapping, Chuck Mangione's "Feels So Good" can be heard faintly in the background. An instrumental version of "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" plays during the scene where Marge and Norm are eating at a buffet. The restaurant scene with Mike Yanagita is accompanied by a piano arrangement of "Sometimes in Winter" by Blood, Sweat & Tears. All the songs heard in the film are featured only as background music, usually on a radio, and do not appear on the soundtrack album.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: The soundtrack was released in 1996 on TVT Records, combined with selections from the score to "Barton Fink".


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: However, the closing credits bear the standard fictitious persons disclaimer used by works of fiction. Regarding this apparent discrepancy, the Coen brothers claimed that they based their script on an actual criminal event, but wrote a fictional story around it. "We weren't interested in that kind of fidelity", said Joel Coen. "The basic events are the same as in the real case, but the characterizations are fully imagined ... If an audience believes that something's based on a real event, it gives you permission to do things they might otherwise not accept."


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: The brothers have modified their explanation more than once. In 1996, Joel Coen told a reporter that—contrary to the opening graphic—the actual murders were not committed in Minnesota. Many Minnesotans speculated that the story was inspired by T. Eugene Thompson, a St. Paul attorney who was convicted of hiring a man to murder his wife in 1963, near the Coens' hometown of St. Louis Park; but the Coens claimed that they had never heard of Thompson. After Thompson's death in 2015, Joel Coen changed the explanation again: "[The story was] completely made up. Or, as we like to say, the only thing true about it is that it's a story."


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: The film's special edition DVD contains yet another account, that the film was inspired by the 1986 murder of Helle Crafts, a Danish-American flight attendant from Connecticut at the hands of her husband, Richard, who disposed of her body through a wood chipper.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: The film's illustrations of "Minnesota nice" and distinctive regional accents and expressions made a lasting impression on audiences; years later, locals reported continuing to field tourist requests to say "Yah, you betcha", and other tag lines from the movie. Dialect coach Liz Himelstein said that "the accent was another character". She coached the cast using audiotapes and field trips. Another dialect coach, Larissa Kokernot (who also played one of the prostitutes), noted that the "small-town, Minnesota accent is close to the sound of the Nords and the Swedes", which is "where the musicality comes from". She taught McDormand "Minnesota nice" and the characteristic head-nodding to show agreement. The strong accent spoken by Macy's and McDormand's characters, which was exaggerated for effect, is less common in the Twin Cities, where over 60% of the state's population lives. The Minneapolis and St. Paul dialect is characterized by the Northern Cities Vowel Shift, which is also found in other places in the Northern United States as far east as Rochester, New York.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: "Fargo" premiered at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the competition's highest honor, the Palme d'Or. Joel Coen won the top directorial award, the "Prix de la mise en scène". Subsequent notable screenings included the Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic, and the Naples Film Festival. In 2006, the sixth annual Fargo Film Festival marked "Fargo"s tenth anniversary by projecting the movie on a gigantic screen mounted on the north side of Fargo's then tallest building, the Radisson Hotel.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: Released theatrically in the United States on March 8, 1996, "Fargo" launched in 36 theaters, and grossed $1,024,137 in its first week. In the film's third week, "Fargo" was released in 412 theaters, and accumulated a total box office gross of $5,998,890. Overall it grossed $24,281,860 in the United States and Canada. Internationally, "Fargo" was released in Canada on April 5, 1996; in the United Kingdom on May 31, 1996 grossing $2.3 million; in Australia on June 6, 1996 grossing $1.5 million; in France on September 4, 1996 grossing $3.9 million; and in Germany on November 14, 1996 grossing $2.4 million. Overall, the film's international gross was an estimated $36 million for a worldwide total of $60.6 million.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, "Fargo" holds an approval rating of 94% based on 104 reviews, with an average rating of 8.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Violent, quirky, and darkly funny, "Fargo" delivers an original crime story and a wonderful performance by McDormand." At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 85 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: Arnold Wayne Jones, writing for the "Dallas Observer", called the film an "illuminating amalgam of emotion and thought", praising the directing and writing from the Coen brothers. From "Entertainment Weekly", Lisa Schwarzbaum lauded the performance from Frances McDormand and stated that the film was "dizzily rich, witty, and satisfying". In "The New Yorker", Anthony Lane singled out McDormand for praise: "Her character—seven months pregnant, polite to a fault, smart yet slow—is only a breath away from caricature, yet McDormand unearths a surprising decency there, and in the process she pretty well rescues the film." "USA Today" journalist Mike Clark also praised the performance of McDormand:


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: On the other side of the spectrum, "Time" magazine film critic Richard Corliss criticized "Fargo" for its use of Minnesota nice, the accent used in the film. In his review, Corliss stated that "After some superb mannerist films, the Coens are back in the deadpan realist territory of "Blood Simple", but without the cinematic elan." (Conversely, Janet Maslin, in "The New York Times", deemed "Fargo" "much more stylish and entertaining" than "Blood Simple"). James Berardinelli, writing for his own website, "ReelThoughts", gave the film three stars out of five, stating that it was "easy to admire what the Coens are trying to do in "Fargo", but more difficult to actually like the film."


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: John Simon of "The National Review" wrote "The Coen brothers' "Fargo" is their best film so far, which isn't saying very much". Simon elaborated further that ""Fargo" could have been a nice little film noir if they hadn't compounded it with black comedy, absurdism, and folksy farce: Scandinavian-American midwesterners up, or down, to their hickish shenanigans. Some of this surprisingly, works, some of it ranges from the unpalatable to the indigestible".


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert both ranked "Fargo" as the best film of 1996, with Ebert later ranking it fourth on his list of the best films of the 1990s. "Fargo" was added to the National Film Registry by the National Film Preservation Board on December 27, 2006. In 2010, the Independent Film & Television Alliance selected the film as one of its "30 Most Significant Independent Films" of the last 30 years. The Writers Guild of America ranked the film's screenplay the 32nd greatest ever.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: "Fargo" has been released in several formats: VHS, LaserDisc, DVD, Blu-ray, and iTunes download. The first home video release of the film was on November 19, 1996, on a pan and scan cassette. A collector's edition widescreen VHS was also released and included a snow globe that depicted the woodchipper scene which, when shaken, stirred up both snow and "blood". PolyGram Filmed Entertainment released "Fargo" on DVD on July 8, 1997. In 1999, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, who acquired the rights to the film through their purchase of Polygram's pre-March 31, 1996, library, released the film on VHS as part of its "Contemporary Classics" series. A "Special Edition" DVD was released on September 30, 2003, by MGM Home Entertainment, which featured minor changes to the film, particularly with its subtitles. The opening titles stating "This is a true story" have been changed in this edition from the actual titles on the film print to digitally inserted titles. Also, the subtitle preceding Lundegaard's arrest "Outside of Bismarck, North Dakota" has been inserted digitally and moved from the bottom of the screen to the top. The special edition of "Fargo" was repackaged in several Coen brothers box sets and also as a double feature DVD with other MGM releases. A Blu-ray version was released on May 12, 2009, and later in a DVD combo pack in 2010. On April 1, 2014, in commemoration for the 90th anniversary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the film was remastered in 4K and reissued again on Blu-ray. On May 3, 2017, Shout! Factory announced a 20th anniversary collector's Steelbook edition on Blu-ray, limited to 10,000 copies. The Steelbook was released on August 8, 2017.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: In 1997, a pilot was filmed for an intended television series based on the film. Set in Brainerd shortly after the events of the film, it starred Edie Falco as Marge Gunderson and Bruce Bohne reprising his role as Officer Lou. It was directed by Kathy Bates and featured no involvement from the Coen brothers. The episode aired in 2003 during Trio's "Brilliant But Cancelled" series of failed TV shows.


title: Fargo (1996 film)

text: A follow-up TV series inspired by the film, with the Coens as executive producers, debuted on FX in April 2014. The first season received acclaim from both critics and audiences. Existing in the same fictional continuity as the film, each season features a different story, cast, and decade-setting. The episode "Eating the Blame" reintroduced the buried ransom money for a minor three-episode subplot. Three further seasons have been made thus far; the fourth was released on September 27, 2020.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Manny Pacquiao is a Filipino former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2021. Regarded by boxing historians as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time, Pacquiao is the only boxer in history to win twelve major world titles in eight different weight divisions. He is also the first boxer in history to win the lineal championship in five different weight divisions, as well as being the first boxer in history to win major world titles in four of the original eight weight divisions of boxing, also known as the "glamour divisions": flyweight, featherweight, lightweight and welterweight.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: In July 2019, Pacquiao became the oldest welterweight world champion in history at the age of 40, and the first boxer to become a recognized four-time welterweight champion after defeating Keith Thurman to win the WBA (Super) welterweight title. Pacquiao also holds the record of being the only boxer to hold world titles in four different decades, in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: He was named Fighter of the Decade for the 2000s by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA), WBC, WBO and HBO. He is also a three-time "Ring" magazine and BWAA Fighter of the Year, winning both awards in 2006, 2008 and 2009; and the Best Fighter ESPY Award in 2009 and 2011. In 2016, Pacquiao was ranked second on ESPN's list of top boxers, pound-for-pound, of the past 25 years. BoxRec ranks Pacquiao as the third greatest boxer, pound for pound, of all time, as well as the greatest Asian boxer of all time. Boxing historian Bert Sugar ranked Pacquiao as the greatest southpaw fighter of all time. In 2020, Pacquiao topped the Ranker's list of best boxers of the 21st century while Spanish media outlet "Marca" placed Pacquiao 16th on their Greatest Sportsmen of the 21st Century list.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Pacquiao was long rated as the best active boxer in the world, pound-for-pound, by most sporting news and boxing websites, including ESPN, "Sports Illustrated", "Sporting Life", Yahoo! Sports, About.com, BoxRec and "The Ring", beginning from his climb to lightweight until his losses at welterweight in 2012. He was also the longest reigning top-ten active boxer on "The Ring"'s pound-for-pound list.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Pacquiao has generated approximately 20.4 million total pay-per-view (PPV) buys and $1.29 billion in revenue from his 26 PPV bouts. According to "Forbes", he was the second highest paid athlete in the world in 2015.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: At the age of 14, Pacquiao moved to Manila and lived for a time on the streets. He started boxing while working as construction worker and enduring hunger just to send money to his mother and made the Philippine national amateur boxing team where his room and board were paid for by the government. Pacquiao reportedly had an amateur record of 60 wins and 4 losses.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: In 1995, the death of a young aspiring boxer and close friend, Eugene Barutag, spurred the young Pacquiao to pursue a professional boxing career. Pacquiao started his professional boxing career when he was just 16 years old, stood at 4'11<nowiki>"</nowiki> and weighed 98 pounds (7 pounds under the mini-flyweight division). He admitted before American media that he put weights in his pockets to make the 105-pound weight limit. His early light-flyweight division fights took place in small local venues and were shown on Vintage Sports' "Blow by Blow", an evening boxing show. His professional debut was a four-round bout against Edmund "Enting" Ignacio, on January 22, 1995. Weighing just 106 pounds, Pacquiao won via unanimous decision, becoming an instant star of the program. Pacquiao's name was so accustomed to the viewers not only because of his aggressive, go-for-broke kamikaze-style of fighting, but also of his unique looks and catchy surname.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Pacquiao's weight increased from 106 to 113 pounds before losing in his twelfth bout against Rustico Torrecampo via third-round knockout. He was caught with a looping left hand flush on the chin which he couldn't get up from. Pacquiao failed to make the required weight, so he was forced to use heavier gloves than Torrecampo, thereby putting him at a disadvantage.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Following the Torrecampo fight, Pacquiao continued undefeated for his next fifteen fights. He went on another unbeaten run that saw him take on the more experienced Chokchai Chockvivat in the flyweight division. Pacquiao knocked out Chockvivat in the fifth round and took the OPBF flyweight title. After one official defense and two non-title bouts, Pacquiao got his first opportunity to fight for a world title.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Pacquiao captured the WBC and lineal flyweight titles (his first major boxing world title) over Chatchai Sasakul by way of knockout in the eighth round. He defended the titles successfully against Mexican Gabriel Mira via a fourth-round technical knockout. However, Pacquiao lost the lineal title in his second defense against Medgoen Singsurat, also known as Medgoen 3K Battery, via third-round knockout. The bout was held in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. Singsurat got Pacquiao on the ropes and landed a flush straight right to the body, coiling Pacquiao over and keeping him there. Prior to the fight, Pacquiao lost the WBC title at the scales as he surpassed the weight limit of 112 pounds.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Following his loss to Singsurat, Pacquiao gained weight and skipped the super-flyweight and bantamweight divisions. This time, Pacquiao went to super-bantamweight division of 122 pounds, where he picked up the WBC International super-bantamweight title. He defended this title five times before his chance for a world title fight came.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Pacquiao's big break came on June 23, 2001, against IBF super-bantamweight title holder Lehlohonolo Ledwaba. Pacquiao stepped into the fight as a late replacement on two weeks' notice but won the fight by technical knockout to win the title, his second major boxing world title. The bout was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Paradise, Nevada. Pacquiao went on to defend this title four times under head trainer Freddie Roach, owner of the Wild Card Gym in West Hollywood.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Pacquiao faced Agapito Sánchez in a unification match on November 10, 2001, at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, California as the main supporting bout of Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Jesús Chávez. This marks both Mayweather and Pacquiao first appearance together in the same fight card. The bout ended in the sixth round under the recommendation of the ringside physician to stop the fight as Pacquiao was unfit to continue due to the cuts inflicted by Sanchez's repeated headbutts. The bout was ruled a split draw.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Pacquiao knocked out Jorge Eliecer Julio in the second round on June 8, 2002, at The Pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee as the main supporting bout of Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson fight. This marks Pacquiao's first appearance in a joint HBO and Showtime fight card.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On November 15, 2003, Pacquiao faced Marco Antonio Barrera at the Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, in a fight that many consider to have defined his career. In spite of Barrera being given credit for knocking Pacquiao down in the first round (as replays showed the punch missed), Pacquiao, who was fighting at featherweight for the first time, brought his power with him and defeated Barrera via technical knockout in the eleventh round. This was the only loss in Barrera's professional career to have come officially via stoppage inside the distance. With the victory, Pacquiao won "The Ring" and lineal featherweight championships, making him the first Filipino and Asian to become a three-division world champion, a fighter who won world titles in three different weight divisions. He defended the title twice before relinquishing it in 2005.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On November 24, 2003, the then Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo conferred on Pacquiao the Presidential Medal of Merit at the Ceremonial Hall of Malacañang Palace for his knockout victory over the best featherweight boxer in the world. The following day, the members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines presented the House Resolution No. 765, authored by the then House Speaker Jose De Venecia and Bukidnon Representative Juan Miguel Zubiri, which honored Pacquiao the Congressional Medal of Achievement for his exceptional achievements. Pacquiao is the first sportsman to receive such an honor from the House of Representatives.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Six months after the fight with Barrera, Pacquiao challenged Juan Manuel Márquez, who at the time held both the WBA and IBF featherweight titles. The fight took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, on May 8, 2004.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: In the first round, Márquez was caught cold, as he was knocked down three times by Pacquiao. However, Márquez showed great heart to recover from the early knockdowns and went on to win the majority of rounds thereafter. This was largely due to Márquez's counterpunch style, which he managed to effectively use against the aggressive style of Pacquiao. At the end of a very close fight, both boxers felt they had done enough to win the fight. The bout was scored a draw, which proved to be a controversial decision. The final scores were 115–110 for Márquez, 115–110 for Pacquiao, and 113–113. The judge who scored the bout 113–113 admitted to making an error on the scorecards, having scored the first round as 10–7 in favor of Pacquiao instead of the standard 10–6 for a three-knockdown round. If he had scored the round 10–6 for Pacquiao (as the other two judges did), the result would have been a split decision in favor of Pacquiao. However, ESPN reported that some pundits have also scored the fight in favor of Márquez.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On March 19, 2005, Pacquiao moved up to the super-featherweight (or junior-lightweight) division of 130 pounds to fight another Mexican legend and three-division world champion Érik Morales, for the vacant WBC International and vacant IBA super-featherweight titles. The fight took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. In this fight, Pacquiao sustained a cut over his right eye from an accidental clash of heads in the fifth round. He lost the twelve-round match by a unanimous decision from the judges. All three scorecards read 115–113 for Morales.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On September 10, 2005, Pacquiao knocked Héctor Velázquez out in six rounds at Staples Center in Los Angeles to capture the WBC International super-featherweight title, which he went on to defend five times. On the same card, his rival Morales fought Zahir Raheem and lost via unanimous decision in the main event.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Despite Morales's loss to Raheem, Pacquiao got matched up against him in a rematch which took place on January 21, 2006, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. During the fight, Morales escaped being knocked down twice, once in the second round by holding onto the ropes and once in the sixth by falling on the referee. Pacquiao eventually stopped Morales in the tenth with a TKO, the first time Morales was stopped in his boxing career.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On July 2, 2006, Pacquiao defended his WBC International title against Óscar Larios, a two-time super-bantamweight champion who had moved up two weight divisions to fight Pacquiao. Pacquiao won the fight via unanimous decision, knocking down Larios two times in the twelve-round bout at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines. The three judges respectively scored the fight 117–110, 118–108, and 120–106.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On July 3, 2006, the day after winning the fight against Larios, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo personally bestowed the Order of Lakandula with the rank of "Champion for Life" ("Kampeon Habambuhay") and the plaque of appreciation upon Pacquiao in a simple ceremony at the Presidential Study of Malacañang Palace.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Pacquiao and Morales fought a third time (with the series tied 1–1) on November 18, 2006. Witnessed by a near-record crowd of 18,276, the match saw Pacquiao defeat Morales via a third-round knockout at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. After the Pacquiao–Morales rubber match, Bob Arum, Pacquiao's main promoter, announced that Manny had returned his signing bonus back to Golden Boy Promotions, signaling intentions to stay with Top Rank. This prompted Golden Boy Promotions to sue Pacquiao over breach of contract.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: After a failed promotional negotiation with Marco Antonio Barrera's camp, Bob Arum chose Jorge Solís as Pacquiao's next opponent among several fighters Arum offered as replacements. The bout was held in San Antonio, Texas, on April 14, 2007. In the sixth round, an accidental headbutt occurred, giving Pacquiao a cut under his left eyebrow. The fight ended in the eighth when Pacquiao knocked Solís down twice. Solís barely beat the count after the second knockdown, causing the referee to stop the fight and award Pacquiao a knockout win. The victory raised Pacquiao's win–loss–draw record to 44–3–2 with 34 knockouts. This also marked the end of Solís's undefeated streak.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On June 29, 2007, Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions announced that they agreed to settle their lawsuit, meaning the long-awaited rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera would occur despite Pacquiao being the top-ranked contender for Juan Manuel Márquez's WBC super-featherweight title. On October 6, 2007, Pacquiao defeated Barrera in their rematch via an easy unanimous decision. In the eleventh round, Pacquiao's punch caused a deep cut below Barrera's right eye. Barrera retaliated with an illegal punch on the break that dazed Pacquiao, but also resulted in a point deduction for Barrera. Two judges scored the bout 118–109, whereas the third scored it 115–112.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: In "The Ring" magazine, Pacquiao (45–3–2) remained at the top of the super-featherweight division (130 pounds). He had been in the ratings for 108 weeks. On November 13, 2007, he was honored by the World Boxing Council as "Emeritus Champion" during its 45th Annual World Convention held at the Manila Hotel.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On November 20, 2007, José Nuñez, manager of WBO super-featherweight champion Joan Guzmán, accused Pacquiao's handler Bob Arum of evading a match between the two boxers to protect Pacquiao. Guzmán went as far as to directly call out Pacquiao at the post-fight press conference of the Pacquiao–Barrera rematch in front of the crowd at the Mandalay Bay Events Center's media room in Las Vegas.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On March 15, 2008, in a rematch against Juan Manuel Márquez, called "Unfinished Business," Pacquiao won via split decision. The fight was held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. With the victory, Pacquiao won the WBC, "The Ring" and lineal super-featherweight titles, making him the first Filipino and Asian to become a four-division world champion, a fighter who won world titles in four different weight divisions. The fight was a close, hard-fought battle, during which both fighters received cuts. Throughout the fight, Márquez landed the most punches at a higher percentage; however, the decisive factor proved to be a third-round knockdown, wherein Márquez was floored by a Pacquiao left hook. At the end of the fight, the judges' scores were 115–112 for Pacquiao, 115–112 for Márquez, and 114–113 for Pacquiao.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: In the post-fight news conference, Márquez's camp called for an immediate rematch. In addition, Richard Schaefer, Golden Boy Promotions CEO, offered a $6 million guarantee to Pacquiao for a rematch. However, Pacquiao ruled out a third clash with Márquez, saying, "I don't think so. This business is over." The reason that Pacquiao did not want a rematch was because he intended to move up to the lightweight division to challenge David Díaz, the reigning WBC lightweight title holder at that time. Díaz won a majority decision over Ramón Montano that night as an undercard of the "Unfinished Business" fight.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On June 28, 2008, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Pacquiao moved to the lightweight division and claimed the WBC lightweight title, defeating David Díaz via knockout in round nine. With the victory, Pacquiao became the first and only Filipino and Asian to become a five-division world champion, a fighter who won world titles in five different weight divisions. He also became the first Filipino fighter to ever win a world title at lightweight. During the fight, which Pacquiao dominated, Díaz was cut badly on his right eye in the fourth round. After the bout, Díaz acknowledged Pacquiao's superior hand speed, stating "It was his speed. It was all his speed. I could see the punches perfectly, but he was just too fast."


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Bob Arum reported that the fight had made $12.5 million, earning Díaz his best payday of $850,000, whilst Pacquiao earned at least $3 million. Official records revealed an attendance of 8,362 (out of a maximum capacity of 12,000).


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Holding both the WBC super-featherweight and lightweight titles following the win, Pacquiao decided to vacate his super-featherweight title in July 2008.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On August 7, 2008, the members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines issued a House Resolution, sponsored by South Cotabato Congresswoman Darlene Antonino-Custodio, which recognized Pacquiao as a "People's Champ" — "for his achievements and in appreciation of the honor and inspiration he has been bringing... to the Filipino people." He received a plaque from the then House Speaker Prospero Nograles.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On December 6, 2008, Pacquiao moved up to the welterweight division to face the six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in a fight called "The Dream Match". Presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank, the bout was scheduled as a twelve-round, non-title fight contested at the 147-pound welterweight limit. Although Pacquiao went into the fight widely recognized as the leading pound-for-pound boxer in the world, some boxing pundits had speculated that 147 pounds could be too far above his natural weight against the larger De La Hoya. However, due to rehydration after the weigh in, De La Hoya came into the fight actually weighing less than Pacquiao and close to 20 pounds under his usual fighting weight. Pacquiao dominated the fight and, after eight rounds, De La Hoya's corner was forced to throw in the towel, awarding Pacquiao the win via technical knockout.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Pacquiao was ahead on all three judges' scorecards before the stoppage, with two judges scoring the fight at 80–71 and one scoring it at 79–72. Moreover, Pacquiao landed 224 out of 585 punches, whilst De La Hoya landed only 83 out of 402 punches. After the bout, trainer Freddie Roach stated, "We knew we had him after the first round. He had no legs, he was hesitant and he was shot." The fight would be De La Hoya's last, as he announced his retirement from boxing shortly after.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Pacquiao received 15 to $30 million (share of the pay-per-view), plus a guaranteed amount. Tickets reportedly sold out just hours after they went on sale. Moreover, the total gate revenue for the fight was said to be nearly $17 million, making it the second largest gate revenue in boxing history.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On December 22, 2008, Pacquiao was decorated with the Philippine Legion of Honor with the rank of "Officer" ("Pinuno") in a ceremony marking the 73rd founding anniversary of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. As an army reservist, he was given recognition for bringing pride and honor to the country through his remarkable achievements in the ring.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On May 2, 2009, Pacquiao fought at light-welterweight for the first time against Ricky Hatton at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in a fight billed as "The Battle of the East and West." Pacquiao won the bout via knockout to claim Hatton's IBO, "The Ring" and lineal light-welterweight titles. In doing so, Pacquiao became the second man in boxing history to become a six-division world champion, a fighter who won world titles in six different weight divisions and the first man ever to win lineal world titles in four different weight classes.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: The fight was originally placed in jeopardy due to disputes with both camps over the fight purse money. Eventually, the money issue was settled and the fight went on as scheduled. HBO aired the contest.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Pacquiao started the fight strong, knocking down Hatton twice in the first round. A somewhat shaken Hatton beat the count, only to be saved by the bell seconds later. In the second round, Hatton seemed to have recovered, as he stalked Pacquiao for most of the round. However, with less than ten seconds remaining in the round, Hatton was knocked out cold by a sharp left hook, prompting the referee to award Pacquiao the win by knockout at 2:59.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On November 14, 2009, Pacquiao defeated Miguel Cotto via technical knockout in the twelfth round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in a fight billed as "Firepower." Although the bout was sanctioned as a world title fight in the welterweight division, where the weight limit is 147 pounds, Cotto agreed to fight at a catchweight of 145 pounds.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Pacquiao dominated the fight, knocking Cotto down in round three and round four, before the referee stopped the fight at 0:55 of round twelve. With this victory, Pacquiao took the WBO welterweight title, was awarded the WBO super championship title and became the first seven-division world champion, the first fighter in boxing history to win world titles in seven different weight divisions, as well as the first boxer in history to win major world titles in four of the eight "glamour divisions" of boxing (flyweight, featherweight, lightweight and welterweight). Pacquiao also won the first and special WBC diamond championship belt. This belt was created as an honorary championship exclusively to award the winner of a historic fight between two high-profile boxers. After the fight, promoter Bob Arum stated "Pacquiao is the greatest boxer I've ever seen, and I've seen them all, including Ali, Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard." Cotto said in a post-fight interview: "Miguel Cotto comes to boxing to fight the biggest names, and Manny is one of the best boxers we have of all time."


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: The fight generated 1.25 million buys and $70 million in domestic pay-per-view revenue, making it the most watched boxing event of 2009. Pacquiao earned around $22 million for his part in the fight, whilst Cotto earned around $12 million. Pacquiao–Cotto also generated a live gate of $8,847,550 from an official crowd of 15,930.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On November 20, 2009, in a simple rites at the Quirino Grandstand, President Macapagal-Arroyo conferred Pacquiao the Order of Sikatuna with the rank of "Datu" (Grand Cross) with Gold distinction ("Katangiang Ginto") which usually bestowed upon foreign diplomats and heads of state. It was awarded to Pacquiao for winning his historical seventh weight division world title.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Following the victory against Cotto, there was much public demand for a fight between Pacquiao (the number-one pound-for-pound boxer) and the five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (the number-two and former number-one pound-for-pound boxer). Pacquiao reportedly agreed to fight Mayweather on March 13, 2010, for a split of $50 million up front and it was later agreed that the venue for the fight would be the MGM Grand Garden Arena. However, the bout was put in jeopardy due to disagreements about Olympic-style drug testing. The Mayweather camp wanted random blood testing by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), whereas Pacquiao refused to have any blood testing within 30 days from the fight, because he thought it would weaken him, but he was willing to have blood taken from him before the 30-day window as well as immediately after the fight. Freddie Roach, on the other hand, commented that he would not allow blood to be taken from Pacquiao one week before the fight. In an attempt to resolve their differences, the two camps went through a process of mediation before a retired judge. After the mediation process Mayweather agreed to a 14-day no blood testing window. However, Pacquiao refused and instead only agreed to a 24-day no blood testing window. Consequently, on January 6, 2010, Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum declared that the fight was officially off.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Because of Pacquiao's reluctance to submit to random blood testing to the extent requested by Mayweather, despite lack of evidence, the Mayweather camp repeated their suggestion that Pacquiao was using banned substances, which resulted in Pacquiao filing a lawsuit for defamation, seeking damages in excess of $75,000. The lawsuit cited accusations made by Floyd Mayweather Jr., Floyd Mayweather Sr., Roger Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: After negotiations for the Mayweather fight fell through, other boxers were considered to replace Mayweather as Pacquiao's next opponent, including former light-welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi and WBA super-welterweight title holder Yuri Foreman. However, Pacquiao chose to fight former IBF welterweight title holder Joshua Clottey instead.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On March 13, 2010, at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Pacquiao defeated Clottey via unanimous decision to retain his WBO welterweight title. The judges scored the fight 120–108, 119–109, and 119–109, all in favor of Pacquiao. During the fight, Pacquiao threw a total of 1231 punches (a career high), but landed just 246, as most were blocked by Clottey's tight defense. On the other hand, Clottey threw a total of 399 punches, landing 108.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: The fight was rewarded with a paid crowd of 36,371 and a gate of $6,359,985, according to post-fight tax reports filed with Texas boxing regulators. Counting complimentary tickets delivered to sponsors, media outlets and others, the Dallas fight attracted 41,843, well short of the 50,994 that was previously announced, but still an epic number for boxing. In addition, the bout drew 700,000 pay-per-view buys and earned $35.3 million in domestic revenue.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Pacquiao was named as the Fighter of the Decade for years 2000–2009 by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). This award was presented by legendary boxer Joe Frazier, who was also a recipient of the award himself back in 1978 for defeating Muhammad Ali. Aside from this prestigious recognition, he was also named as the Sugar Ray Robinson Fighter of the Year for 2009, having received the same honor in 2006 and 2008. The awards ceremony was held at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City on June 4, 2010.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: After his victory over Clottey, Pacquiao was expected to return to boxing in late 2010 with a possible matchup against Floyd Mayweather Jr.. It was later reported that Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer and Top Rank Chief Bob Arum worked out a "super fight" between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.. However, complications arose when Mayweather requested Pacquiao undergo random blood and urine testing up until the fight day. Pacquiao responded that he would agree to undergo blood and urine testing up until 14 days before the fight (as requested by Mayweather in the first round of negotiations), stating that giving blood too close to the fight day would weaken him. On May 13, 2010, Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum announced that he had penciled on November 13, 2010, as the date of Manny Pacquiao's next fight, possibly against Mayweather. However, the stumbling block over demands that Pacquiao submit to Olympic-level random drug testing put the fight in jeopardy.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On June 12, 2010, the President of Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar De La Hoya, stated during an interview with Univision that the deal for the fight was very close and the negotiation process has been very difficult. On June 30, 2010, Arum announced that the management of both sides had agreed to terms, that all points had been settled (including Pacquiao agreeing to submit to both blood and urine testing) and only the signature of Floyd Mayweather Jr. was needed to seal the deal that could have earned both fighters at least $40 million each. Mayweather was then given a two-week deadline for the fight contract to be signed. Arum also announced that Pacquiao accepted the terms of the random drug testing, blood and urine, leading up to the fight.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On July 15, 2010, Bob Arum announced that Pacquiao's camp would give Mayweather until Friday midnight to sign the fight. The next day, the Top Rank website embedded a countdown clock on their website with the heading "Money" Time: Mayweather's Decision. On July 17, 2010, Arum announced that there was no word from Mayweather's camp and the deal for a November 13, 2010, fight with Mayweather was not reached.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On July 19, 2010, Leonard Ellerbe, one of Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s closest advisers, denied that negotiations for a super fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao had ever taken place. Ellerbe stated that Bob Arum was not telling the truth. Bob Arum responded, questioning that if there was no negotiation, then who imposed the gag order (referring to a gag order about the negotiation allegedly imposed on both camps) and who could there be a gag order from if there were no negotiations. He also criticized Oscar De La Hoya and his Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer for denying that negotiations took place, when De La Hoya himself had previously stated that they were "very, very close in finalizing the contracts." Arum revealed that HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg acted as the mediator between Mayweather's handlers and those of Pacquiao's from Top Rank Promotions.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On July 26, 2010, Ross Greenburg said that he has been negotiating with a representative from each side since May 2, 2010, carefully trying to put the fight together and he did in fact act as a go-between in negotiations with the two sides, but they were unable to come to an agreement, contradicting what Arum and the Pacquiao camp had said. Floyd Mayweather Jr., after the second negotiation had been officially declared off, told the Associated Press that he had fought sixty days ago and that he was not interested in rushing into anything and was not really thinking about boxing at the moment.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On July 23, 2010, Bob Arum announced that Pacquiao would fight Antonio Margarito on November 13, 2010. The fight for the vacant WBC super-welterweight title gave Pacquiao the chance to win a world title in his eighth weight class, the super-welterweight division. A catchweight of 150 pounds was established for the fight, although the weight limit for the super-welterweight division is 154 pounds. During the pre-fight, Pacquiao weighed in at a low 144.6 pounds, while Margarito weighed in at the limit of 150 pounds. Pacquiao said he was pleased with his weight because he loses too much speed when he gains pounds. During the fight itself, Pacquiao weighed 148 lb, 17 pounds lighter than Margarito's 165.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Prior to the fight, Pacquiao's team demanded to the Texas officials to test Margarito for banned substances after a weight loss supplement, reportedly Hydroxycut, was found in his locker. It was stated that the officials would undergo testing for both boxers after the fight. In the fight, Pacquiao defeated Margarito via unanimous decision, using his superior handspeed and movement to win his eighth world title in as many divisions. In the penultimate round, Pacquiao implored referee Laurence Cole several times to stop the fight as Margarito had a swollen face and a large cut beneath the right eye, but the referee let the fight continue. Margarito had to be taken directly to the hospital after the fight, where it was discovered his orbital bone had been fractured; he had to undergo surgery.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On November 22, 2010, after winning world title in his eighth weight division, Pacquiao was awarded with another Congressional Medal of Distinction during the ceremony at the Philippine House of Representatives.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Because Pacquiao had no plans to defend the WBC super-welterweight title that he won against Margarito, the WBC Board of Governors voted to declare the title vacant.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On May 7, 2011, Pacquiao successfully defended his WBO welterweight title against three-division world champion Shane Mosley via lopsided unanimous decision at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Rapper LL Cool J performed as Mosley first entered the arena, while vocalist Jimi Jamison of the rock band Survivor sang "Eye of the Tiger" as Pacquiao approached the ring. Pacquiao knocked Mosley down in the third round using a one-two capped with a left straight. Mosley was left dazed by the knockdown but managed to stand up. Mosley floored Pacquiao in the tenth round with a push, but referee Kenny Bayless inexplicably ruled it a knockdown. None of the judges seemed to have bought it judging from the scores. Replays showed that Pacquiao was throwing a punch off balance, had his right foot stepped on by Mosley's left foot and went down with a little help from Mosley's right hand. Bayless apologized to Pacquiao after the fight for the mistake. Pacquiao gained one-sided verdicts from all three judges 119–108, 120–108, and 120–107. Pacquiao reported that the only thing preventing him from knocking out Mosley was a cramp in his legs. Freddie Roach said that Pacquiao had problems with cramping before but usually in training sessions and not in the middle of bouts. After the fight, there was much controversy over Mosley reportedly telling Floyd Mayweather Jr. that he should have made Pacquiao "take the test."


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Bob Arum talked about having Pacquiao's next bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on November 5, 2011, or across town at the Thomas & Mack Center on November 12, 2011. Arum listed Juan Manuel Márquez as the first choice and then mentioned Timothy Bradley and Zab Judah as other options.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum stated that a third meeting with Márquez could happen in November 2011, providing Pacquiao defeated his next opponent Shane Mosley on May 7. On May 10, Márquez accepted an offer from Top Rank to fight Pacquiao for his WBO welterweight title at a catchweight of 144 pounds. On May 18, Márquez signed the deal to fight Pacquiao for the third time on November 12 in Las Vegas.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On November 12, Pacquiao defeated Márquez via majority decision 114–114, 115–113, and 116–112. Upon the results being announced, the crowd reaction was largely negative with thousands continuing to boo as Pacquiao spoke with Max Kellerman. Tim Smith of New York's "Daily News" wrote that Márquez "was robbed of a decision by judges who were either blind or corrupt." However, ringside punch stats showed Pacquiao landing more strikes, 176 to 138, and landing more power punches, 117 to 100. Michael Woods of ESPN stated that Márquez was not robbed noting the CompuBox stats, all of which favored Pacquiao.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On February 5, Bob Arum announced Timothy Bradley as Pacquiao's next opponent on June 9 for his WBO welterweight title, after another failed negotiation attempt with Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Cinco de Mayo. During the final press conference, WBO President Francisco "Paco" Valcarcel awarded Pacquiao with WBO Diamond Ring in recognition of Pacquiao as the WBO Best Pound-for-Pound Fighter of the Decade.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Pacquiao lost the bout in a controversial split decision, scoring 115–113, 113–115, and 113–115 from the three judges. The decision was booed by the crowd and criticized by many news outlets who were independently scoring the fight. However, Pacquiao was gracious in defeat and Bradley called for a rematch. Following the decision, many analysts called the decision a sign of corruption in the sport. ESPN.com scored the fight 119–109 for Pacquiao. HBO's unofficial judge, Harold Lederman, also had it 119–109 for Pacquiao. Most ringside media also scored the fight in favor of Pacquiao.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Four days after the fight, Valcarcel said on June 13, 2012, that, though the WBO did not doubt the ability of the scoring judges, the WBO's Championship Committee would review the video of the fight with five independent, competent and recognized international judges and make a recommendation. On June 21, 2012, the five WBO Championship Committee judges on the review panel announced that Pacquiao should have won, with all five judges scoring the fight in Pacquiao's favor 117–111, 117–111, 118–110, 116–112, and 115–113. The WBO cannot overturn the result of the fight (only the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) would be able to do so), but recommended a rematch between the fighters.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Pacquiao fought Juan Manuel Márquez on December 8, 2012. The fight was for the WBO's "Champion of the Decade" belt. Márquez knocked down Pacquiao in the third round with a looping right hook. In round five, Pacquiao returned the favor, knocking down Márquez. Pacquiao went on the offensive in the sixth round. While behind the scorecards and with just one second left in the sixth round, Márquez countered Pacquiao's jab with an overhand right, sending Pacquiao face first to the canvas, resulting in a knockout. Pacquiao, who had not been knocked out in over 13 years since his loss to Medgoen Singsurat in 1999, remained unconscious for several minutes. This was named "The Ring" magazine's "Fight of the Year" and "Knockout of the Year" and "International Fight of the Year" by the British website BoxRec. Márquez was also named "International Fighter of the Year" by the same publication.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: After 11 months away from boxing, Pacquiao returned to the ring on November 24, 2013, at The Venetian Macao Hotel & Resort's Cotai Arena in Macau of the Special administrative regions in China against "The Ring" ranked No. 6 light-welterweight: Brandon Ríos, for the vacant WBO International welterweight title. This was Pacquiao's first fight to be held in China. Pacquiao won the match by unanimous decision.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Following his victory over Rios, Pacquiao sought out and ultimately got a rematch with the WBO welterweight champion of the world: Timothy Bradley who, following his controversial win over Pacquiao in their first fight in 2012, had defended the title with a victory over Ruslan Provodnikov, followed by a close, but clear split decision verdict over Juan Manuel Márquez. The fight was eventually set for the date of April 12, 2014, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. In a tough fight, Pacquiao came on the stronger of the two fighters throughout the later rounds of the fight to end up gaining a unanimous decision victory from the judges 118–110, 116–112, and 116–112.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Pacquiao faced undefeated WBO light-welterweight champion Chris Algieri in Macau on November 23, 2014, for Pacquiao's welterweight title. Pacquiao dominated the bout and scored six official knockdowns en route to a lopsided victory via unanimous decision 119–103, 119–103, and 120–102.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Pacquiao fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 2, 2015. After years of tumultuous negotiations, the two finally met in the ring, Pacquiao with the intent to be the aggressor and Mayweather with the strategy of diffuse and counter. The fight went the distance and to the official judges' scorecards which read 118–110, 116–112, and 116–112 in favor of Mayweather.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Pacquiao said "I had a torn shoulder" as well as "I thought I won the fight. He's moving around. It's not easy to throw punches when he's moving around so much. It's not about size. Size doesn't matter. I fought bigger. I thought I caught him many more times than he caught me."


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: In the end despite the criticism the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao match earned a record 4.4 million pay-per-view buys.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said Pacquiao's next opponents were to be either Terence Crawford, Lucas Matthysse or Kell Brook. There was also speculation that Amir Khan would be another possible foe.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Boxing fans were surprised when Pacquiao and his camp chose to challenge Timothy Bradley in a rubber match on April 9, 2016, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for the WBO International welterweight title. According to Pacquiao, this was to be his last fight as a professional.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On February 22, Philippine senatorial candidate Walden Bello asked the Commission of Elections (COMELEC) to cancel Pacquiao's fight against Bradley, because it will give the boxer-politician free publicity, violating the Republic Act 9006 or the Fair Elections Act. The fight will fall in the 90-day national candidates campaign period for the national elections. Arum said in an interview that the fight's cancellation is not yet an option and stated that there is no conflict-of-interest between the fight and Pacquiao's senatorial campaign.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Prior to this bout, Pacquiao and Bradley were regarded as the two most accomplished and best welterweights in the world by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, BoxingScene and ESPN and two top-five best pound-for-pound fighters. Pacquiao won the match via unanimous decision to capture the vacant WBO International and lineal welterweight titles. This makes him the only fighter in history to win lineal championships in five different weight classes. In addition, Pacquiao became only the third fighter in boxing history to win three lineal crowns in the divisions alternatively referred to as the "original", "major" or "glamour'" divisions (flyweight, featherweight and welterweight), joining the exclusive club of Bob Fitzsimmons and Henry Armstrong who have won a legitimate world championship in three of the original eight weight divisions. After the match, Pacquiao said, "As of now, I am retired" and later shared "I'm going to go home and think about it. I want to be with my family. I want to serve the people."


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On June 23, 2016, it was reported that Pacquiao would return to boxing ring later that year after a brief retirement. In an interview with BoxingScene, Top Rank president Bob Arum said: "Well we gotta see. If he will fight this year, then he will fight next year. We are thinking about him fighting in October if he wants to fight. Once I get the opponent that I am working on – we are working on opponents and once I get that, I will fly over to the Philippines and he will see if his schedule in the senate allows him to train for a fight and participate in a fight. I know he wants to continue fighting but the impediment is how labor intensive his work as a Filipino senator is and he is not going to really know that for another week or so. He was just sworn in as a senator yesterday," According to Yahoo! Sports, Arum reserved Mandalay Bay for October 15, just in case Pacquiao decides to continue fighting in the ring. Arum said: "I'm not sure Manny is going to return, but I believe he wants to return. The question is, can he return and yet fulfill his duties as a senator in the Philippines? I don't think even he knows that answer yet, because he's just taken office."


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: According to a BoxingScene report, Arum said that Pacquiao has even brought up with the Senate leadership the possibility of taking a leave of absence to train for a fight: "He is going to fight. I don't know what the date is. He is working with the President of the Philippines Senate for an appropriate date where he can leave the Philippines for two or three weeks to prepare for the fight." There were also reports that a fight between Pacquiao and former four-division world champion Adrien Broner was being negotiated, something embraced by Pacquiao's longtime trainer Freddie Roach. But Arum, for his part, said Broner priced himself out of the fight: "That is correct (that Broner priced himself out). I was dealing with (Broner's adviser) Al Haymon on making that fight. Al tried but Broner was asking for crazy money that nobody can afford so he is out and Manny is looking for another opponent." Arum told in an interview. Other leading candidates for Pacquiao's comeback were WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas, WBC welterweight champion Danny García and the winner of the July 23 light-welterweight title unification bout between WBO light-welterweight champion Terence Crawford and WBC light-welterweight champion Viktor Postol.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On July 13, Pacquiao responded to rumors that he intends to take a leave of absence from the Philippine Senate for an upcoming bout – as stated by Top Rank Promotions head, Bob Arum. In his official statement; Pacquiao denied such rumors and assured the public that his current priority is to fulfill his duties as a legislator of the Philippines: "There is no truth to media reports that I'm planning to take a leave from my senate duties just to fight again atop the ring. I want to make it clear – my priority is my legislative works.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: My next fight has not yet been discussed. Should there be any, I'll make sure it will not interfere with my senate duties. When I ran for senator last May 9 elections, I made a promise to be present in all sessions. I owe it to the people.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: If ever I decide to fight again, rest assured, it will happen when congress is on recess so there's no need for me to go on leave. The entire training will be done in the Philippines to ensure I can attend sessions even while on training camp.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Boxing is my only means of livelihood to support my family and to help those who are in need. Politics, to me, is a vocation not a means to eke out a living.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On July 11, Arum said that Pacquiao will return to the ring sometime in the fall, likely either on October 29 or November 5, in the main event of a pay-per-view card staged in Las Vegas and televised by HBO. Arum said in an interview: "He now has given us the go-ahead to shop for a venue and an opponent and see if we can do it on a particular date or dates. We've been trying to work out a date that doesn't interfere with his senatorial responsibilities and his ability to train." Subsequently, on July 18, Arum confirmed that Pacquiao was set to fight on November 5 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Senate President Franklin Drilon expressed his support for Pacquiao's reported plan to go back to boxing, confirming for the first time that the newly elected senator had sought his permission to fight again. Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz said in a report that the southpaw, while committed to politics, is happiest when he is in the ring: "Manny's primary concern and obligation is to fulfill his senatorial duties. But he just misses boxing. He misses the training. He misses being in the gym. You can see when he trains it's like a stress reliever for him. His mood changes. It's like he's in happy land. So I am working with Bob and Manny is working closely with the senate president to make sure the dates are okay. We're doing this properly."


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On August 3, Pacquiao's business manager confirmed that WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas (27–1) will be the next opponent for Pacquiao on November 5, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pacquiao made the confirmation after a two-hour meeting with Top Rank's Bob Arum and Canadian adviser Michael Koncz held in Manila on August 7, that he agreed to fight Vargas. "Yes, the fight is on. I have agreed to a Nov. 5 fight with reigning WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas. Boxing is my passion. I miss what I'd been doing inside the gym and atop the ring. My entire training camp will be held here in the Philippines so I can attend to my legislative works. This is my campaign promise and I'm determined to keep it," Pacquiao said. He also explained that he has to fight again to earn a living: "Boxing is my main source of income. I can't rely on my salary as public official. I'm helping the family of my wife and my own family, as well. Many people also come to me to ask for help and I just couldn't ignore them."


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On August 11, it was revealed by Bob Arum that the fight will not be distributed by HBO PPV despite a contract with Pacquiao. HBO reportedly declined to carry the fight because they are already committed to hosting the anticipated November 19 fight between unified light-heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev and former lineal super-middleweight champion Andre Ward and certainly the network couldn't handle two PPVs in one month and would prefer for Pacquiao to fight on October 29, along with the Wladimir Klitschko vs. Tyson Fury heavyweight championship match instead. But Arum said Pacquiao has to fight around his Philippine Senate schedule which effectively makes other fight dates impossible. Arum reiterated that if HBO will not produce or distribute the PPV, it will invalidate Pacquiao's contract with the network and make him a free agent: "In my opinion, they have an obligation to distribute this fight. The fact that they passed means the contract is over, it seems clear to me. They can't pick and choose which fights they are going to distribute. They're either in breach of contract or they've ended the contract. My feeling is, based my legal background, is that the contract is terminated."


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: HBO, on the other hand, believed that their existing contract with Pacquiao still stands, although they would not publicly comment on the disagreement otherwise. Arum said that HBO has no right to object to the date since he's putting up the money as the promoter while the network bears no risk. He also claims that their contract with the network clearly states that only Pacquiao's opponent has to be mutually agreed upon by both sides, not the date. HBO has televised nearly all of Pacquiao's major fights including 21 pay-per-views since 2003. According to Arum, possible distributor of the fight include cable giants Turner Broadcasting System, ESPN and HBO's rival network Showtime.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: In a press conference on September 8 held in Los Angeles, California, it was announced by Bob Arum that the fight will be self-distributed by Top Rank PPV. He also revealed that his company will continue to produce and distribute future pay-per-view events without the involvement of HBO. As for the commentating panel, Arum stressed that he plans to put a star-studded announcing team, which will rival the work of HBO's Jim Lampley and Max Kellerman. Arum confided that he is in talks with major boxing analysts, but he declined to name one as he has not worked out any official deals yet. "I think the commentating team is going to blow everybody's socks off," he vowed. According to Arum, Top Rank's initial plans have received a good feedback from its partners and television (TV) companies, which gives him a hindsight that they could pull it off. "They're all very, very receptive to getting this kind of programming. But right now, this looks like the most likely scenario," Arum stated.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On September 26, Top Rank unveiled the broadcast team for the November 5 PPV bout featuring sports commentating stars Stephen A. Smith of ESPN, Brian Kenny of MLB Network, Charissa Thompson of Fox Sports and former two-division and five-time world champion Timothy Bradley as the ringside commentating team for the fight. The pay-per-view telecast would also feature WBO super-bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire and WBO featherweight champion Óscar Valdez. This marked the first time Pacquiao and Donaire, the two biggest boxing stars to come out of the Philippines, had ever shared the same card.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Floyd Mayweather Jr. made an entrance and sat ringside with his daughter before the main event began. When asked why he was at the fight, he replied, "I'm just taking her to the fight.", whilst pointing to his daughter. In front of 16,132 in attendance, Pacquiao defeated Vargas in a lopsided unanimous decision to win the WBO welterweight title for the third time. In the second round, Pacquiao caught Vargas with a straight left counter, dropping him to the canvas. In the eighth round, an accidental clash of heads opened a deep cut on Vargas’ right eyebrow. However, replays between rounds clearly showed that the cut above Vargas’ eye in the eighth was caused by a left straight punch, which the Nevada Athletic Commission has ruled. In the eleventh round, Vargas went down on a slip, tripping over his feet after he got hit by a right. Vargas went down again in the twelfth round, but Kenny Bayless ruled it another slip. Pacquiao won on all three judges' scorecards 118–109, 118–109, and 114–113. According to CompuBox statistics, Pacquiao landed 147 of 409 of his punches (36%) and Vargas landed 104 of 562 of his punches thrown (19%). Pacquiao was guaranteed $4 million plus a percentage of the revenue of the fight while Vargas was guaranteed $2.5 million. The bout sold 300,000 pay-per-view buys in the United States, earning an estimated $18 million in pay-per-view revenue.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On February 26, 2017, both Pacquiao and Amir Khan announced on Twitter that they would face each other on April 23 in a "super fight". The United Arab Emirates (UAE) specifically Abu Dhabi, were front runners to host the fight worth potentially £30 million, with the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) also being possibilities. Pacquiao was initially in negotiations to fight Jeff Horn in Australia, but held a poll asking the fans who he should fight next. Khan won the poll, thus setting up the fight. The Sevens Stadium in Dubai, Zayed Sports City Stadium and Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi were being considered as the venue. Speaking to Bob Arum on March 1, Pacquiao's adviser Michael Koncz confirmed the fight would take place on May 19 in the United States which means it would be a Friday night PPV and May 20 in the Middle-East. In the early morning of March 2, Bob Arum stated that the date of the fight was not close to being set with Khan's representatives. Later that day, Khan's camp confirmed they had agreed the revised fight date. Bob Arum told ESPN on March 8 that there was never a deal in place for the fight to take place, "It's kaddish for the UAE deal. It's dead." Arum also mentioned that if there was any chance the fight can take place, it would be in the second half of 2017 and that Khan would not be Pacquiao's next opponent.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On March 27, Arum told the "International Business Times" ("IBT") that Pacquiao vs. Horn was back on. A likely date of July 2, 2017, was discussed. On April 1, it was confirmed that Horn had signed the contract at his end and was waiting for Pacquiao, who was believed to have received the contract. He and his team were going over the terms. "We have to get the contract signed. They’re reviewing the contract and hopefully it will be signed in the next hours or so. On the Australian side, everything is done. Jeff Horn has signed the contract," Arum told "The Star". Arum later stated that there was no deadline for an agreement to be reached before declaring 'everything is done'. It was reported by "The Manila Times" on April 7 that Pacquiao had signed for the fight to take place at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia. It was noted that he would start training in the first week of May. Around 55,000 fans around the world were expected to be in attendance and the event would pump at least $24 million into the local economy. On April 10, Carl Moretti told ESPN the fight was close to being finalized. Bob Arum officially announced the fight on April 10, billed as ""The Battle of Brisbane"". On June 1, it was reported that 40,000 tickets had been sold within over a month left for the fight. On June 19, 2017, it was announced that ESPN and Top Rank finalized a deal that would air the bout live on ESPN. This marked the first time that a Pacquiao fight would not be on pay-per-view since his co-main event fight against Héctor Velázquez on September 10, 2005.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: In front of 51,052, Pacquiao lost a hard-fought fight via a controversial unanimous decision when the three judges scored it 117–111, 115–113, and 115–113 in favor of Horn. Many pundits, current and former boxers believed Pacquiao had done enough to retain the WBO title. Although Horn was the aggressor and showed determination throughout the fight, it nearly came to an end in round nine when Pacquiao took control and looked for the stoppage. Horn survived the round and was told by referee Mark Nelson, that he needed to show competitiveness or else he would stop the fight. Despite now having lost four of his last nine fights, Pacquiao remained humble, "I’m professional. I respect the judges." It was reported that Horn would receive $500,000 from this fight and Pacquiao was guaranteed at least $10 million. Pacquiao stated he would activate the rematch clause and fight Horn again at the end of 2017. CompuBox stats showed that Pacquiao landed 182 out of 573 punches thrown (32%), whilst Horn landed 92 of 625 thrown (15%).


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: Post-fight stats showed that Pacquiao landed almost double the number of punches that Horn landed. Dieter Kurtenbach of Fox Sports described the fight as "rigged", and T. J. Quinn of ESPN commented, "No way in hell Horn won unanimously," he tweeted. "A 117–111 card? Ridiculous. This is a hometown hit job. Manny looked old, but mostly in control".


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: In regards to the controversial scorecards, ESPN's Dan Rafael scored the fight 117–111 and ESPN analyst Teddy Atlas scored it 116–111, both for Pacquiao. "The Guardian" and the "IBT" also scored the fight in favor of Pacquiao as well, 117–111. BoxingScene had it 116–112 for Pacquiao, while CBS Sports scored the fight 114–114 even. BoxNation's Steve Bunce scored the fight 115–113 for Horn. In total, 12 of 15 media outlets scored the bout for Pacquiao, 2 of 15 outlets ruled in favor of Horn and 1 scored a draw. Pacquiao claimed Horn got away with numerous dirty tactics in the fight, using illegal blows including elbows and headbutts, causing him to be cut on three different occasions during the fight.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On July 6, 2017, the WBO announced that it would re-score the Manny Pacquiao vs. Jeff Horn fight but the result would still stand. The WBO rescored the fight 7 rounds to 5 in favour of Horn. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum said the result of the WBO's review "doesn't settle anything." Arum stated: "First of all they didn't [rule] that Jeff Horn clearly won the fight. They (WBO) had five judges scoring the fight: three had Horn winning narrowly, one had it a draw, one had Pacquiao winning." Pacquiao was 'not surprised' with the re-score and vowed to fight on and continue his professional boxing career.


title: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao

text: On January 16, 2018, it was first reported that Pacquiao would return to the ring on the undercard of Terence Crawford vs. Jeff Horn for the WBO welterweight championship on April 21. Arum wanted the card to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and have the card take place on ESPN PPV. Early rumours indicated he would fight 37-year-old former WBO light-welterweight champion Mike Alvarado (38–4). On February 2, after winning the vacant WBA (Regular) welterweight title against Tewa Kiram, Lucas Matthysse (39–4–0–1) stated he was interested in fighting Pacquiao next. Freddie Roach as well as Golden Boy Promotions Eric Gomez liked the idea of the fight happening. Arum was also open to fight taking place, but stated it wouldn't happen next as he was likely to match Pacquiao with Alvarado. On March 1, Pacquiao withdrew from the Crawford-Horn card. According to Aquiles Zonio, Pacquiao's media relations officer, Pacquiao felt it was an insult to have him in a non-main event roll and felt he was the obvious ticket seller for the card, also believing he beat Horn in their fight in 2017. In an interview, Pacquiao told ABS-CBN television he would fight in Malaysia, where he has a group willing to put up the necessary funds, in May or June 2018. It was said that Pacquiao's MP Promotions would promote the event with a confirmed date of June 24. Arum played down the talks and said the fight had not been finalized. Pacquiao started training for the potential bout on March 12. Although the fight wasn't officially announced, the date was pushed back to July 8. Pacquiao explained the reason the date had changed was because June 24 would have fallen 10 days after the Islamic month, Ramadan and more than 60% of Malaysia's population are Muslim.