Pacquiao on cover of TIME

More than ever, Manny Pacquiao is the face of boxing.

The Filipino idol and pound-for-pound king is on the cover of this week’s Asian edition of TIME magazine, which hits newsstands this weekend. It includes a five-page story on him that appears in all editions. (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1935091,00.html)

“Manny Pacquiao is the most exciting fighter on earth at this moment," Howard Chua-Eoan, TIME's news director and co-author of the Pacquiao feature, said in a prepared statement. "But not just because of his skills in the ring. When he fights, he is carrying the hopes and dreams of an entire nation. He fights for his people. It is one of the most inspiring stories in sports today."

Pacquiao, a humble sort, seems to be overwhelmed.

“I absolutely had no idea that when I started my career in boxing, to provide a better life for myself and my family, that I would now be where I am today and on the cover of TIME Magazine,” Pacquiao said in the statement. “A fighter’s dream is to win a world title and gain financial stability. But what is happening to me now is the most humbling experience of my life. It is a great honor for me to be the face of my people and to let everyone know we are a small but mighty country.

“I have great pride for all of the Filipinos living throughout the world and it is these people that I fight for each and every time I step into the ring.”

Other boxers who have appeared on the cover of TIME: Jack Dempsey (1923), Gene Tunney (1926), Max Schmeling (1929), Primo Carnera (1931), Joe Louis (1941), Sugar Ray Robinson (1951), Cassius Clay (1963), Muhammad Ali/Joe Frazier (1971), Muhammad Ali (1978) and Mike Tyson (1988).

Pacquiao faces Miguel Cotto next Saturday (Nov. 14) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on pay-per-view television.