Manny Pacquiao ran away from his impoverished home at the age of 14 in order to lessen the burden on his mother, who was raising six children alone in General Santos City on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. He found work in Manila in warehouses and construction sites but drifted back to his great love, boxing. He turned pro in 1995 when he was 16 — as a light flyweight at just 106 lb.