Manny Pacquiao long ago established himself as a Hall of Fame worthy fighter.

That status became official on Thursday.

The record-setting eight-division champion led the International Boxing Hall of Fame Class of 2025, as he was voted in during his first year of eligibility. Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 knockouts) was joined by former two-division titlists Vinny Pazienza (50-10, 30 KOs) and Michael Nunn (58-4, 38 KOs) among the men’s modern-day fighters category.

"I am so happy that I have been selected to enter the International Boxing Hall of Fame,” Pacquiao said upon receiving the call to the Hall. “This certainly is a wonderful Christmas gift. Throughout my career, as a professional fighter and a public servant, it has been my goal to bring honor to my country, The Philippines, and my fellow Filipinos around the world.

“Today, I am humbled knowing that in June, I will receive boxing's highest honor, joining our national hero, Flash Elorde, as well as my trainer and friend Freddie Roach. I am very grateful to those who voted for me, and I look forward to celebrating with family, friends, and fans at Induction Weekend in Canastota, New York."

Fittingly, Pacquiao’s bid comes 26 years almost to the day of his first championship win.

The legendary Filipino southpaw scored a come-from-behind, eighth-round knockout of Chatchai Sasakul on Dec. 4, 1998—two weeks shy of his 20th birthday. Pacquiao won the lineal and WBC flyweight championship that day on the road in Phuttamonthon, Thailand.

The Ring belt was still out of circulation at the time and not reinstated for another three years. Pacquiao earned The Ring championships in a record-tying four weight divisions—featherweight, junior lightweight, junior welterweight and welterweight. He also won alphabet titles at junior featherweight, lightweight and junior middleweight over the course of his 26-year-career.

Pacquiao also earned The Ring Fighter of the Year honors three times in a four-year span—2006, 2008 and 2009. He was also honored by the Boxing Writers Association of America as the 2000s Fighter of the Decade and a longtime staple at or near the top of most pound-for-pound rankings on and off for nearly two decades.

Pacquiao is also forever linked to the most lucrative event in boxing history. It unfortunately resulted in a defeat to Floyd Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs), a Class of 2021 Hall of Fame inductee who beat Pacquiao via unanimous decision in their May 2015 blockbuster at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The pay-per-view event sold roughly 4,600,000 units in amassing more than $400,000,000 in revenue through that medium, along with a $72,198,500 live gate from 16,219 tickets sold. Both remain financial benchmarks that will likely never be topped.

Much of that run came under the guidance of Hall-of-Fame head trainer Freddie Roach, who headed his corner since 2001.

"I opened my gym, Wild Card Boxing Club, in hopes that the next Muhammad Ali would walk through the door,” stated Roach, who was part of the IBHOF Class of 2012. “Little did I know that in 2001, my Muhammad Ali would weigh 122 pounds. His name was Manny Pacquiao, and he was and still is the pride of the Philippines. For twenty years, after Manny and I first did mitts in the ring at Wild Card, we trained together for some of the biggest fights.

“As his collection of world championship belts grew, so did his presence in boxing and the world. Today's announcement that Manny will be a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame's class of 2025 makes me incredibly proud. As much as I loved working together with Manny all those years, I'm even happier sharing the same wall with him at the International Boxing Hall of Fame."

A national hero in and out of the ring, Pacquiao also served public office as a congressman and later as a senator.

The full list of honorees to enter next June are as follows:

Men’s Modern: Manny Pacquiao, Vinny Pazienza (former IBF lightweight and WBA junior middleweight titlist), Michael Nunn (former lineal/IBF middleweight champion and WBA super middleweight titlist)

Women’s Modern: Yessica Chavez (2006-2021; 32-5-3, 4 KOs; former IBF junior flyweight and WBC flyweight titlist), Anne Sophie Mathis, Mary Jo Sanders (1995-2016; 27-4-1, 23 KOs; former WBA and WBC junior welterweight titlist)

Men’s Old Timer: Rodrigo Valdez (posthumous), Owen Swift (posthumous)

Women’s Trailblazer: Cat Davis

Non-Participant: referee Kenny Bayless, cut man Al Gavin (posthumous), referee Harry Gibbs (posthumous)

Observer: Randy Gordon (radio host, former Ring editor-in-chief and New York State Athletic Commission), Ross Greenburg (television producer, former longtime HBO Sports executive)

Here is what the remaining entrants had to say about the honor.

The Class of 2025 Hall of Fame induction weekend will take place June 5-8 on HOF grounds in Canastota, New York.