A boy who once worried about food had participated in an event capable of generating hundreds of millions of dollars.
Yet one of the most meaningful stories surrounding Pacquiao's wealth would not take place inside a casino, mansion or luxury resort.
It would happen back in the Philippines.
A Different Kind of Investment
Years before the Mayweather fight, Pacquiao had already become involved in housing initiatives.
In 2011, Habitat for Humanity announced that Pacquiao had joined the organization's campaign against poverty housing in the Philippines.
The plan focused particularly on Mindanao and Sarangani Province, which Pacquiao represented in Congress.
According to Habitat for Humanity, Pacquiao agreed to provide land on which the organization would construct an initial 100 houses for low-income families.
Pacquiao described a simple ambition behind the project: he wanted families in Mindanao, particularly Sarangani, to have decent homes and safe communities.
That partnership is important because it demonstrates that Pacquiao's interest in housing poor families did not suddenly begin after the Mayweather payday.
It was already part of his philanthropic activity.
But as his wealth increased, so did the scale of the housing efforts associated with him.
Pacman Village
In December 2015—several months after the Mayweather fight—another significant housing project attracted attention.
The World Boxing Organization reported that Pacquiao turned over 150 housing units to homeless families in Barangay Bales in Maasim, Sarangani Province.
The development became known as Pacman Village.
According to the WBO report, the project cost approximately 28.5 million Philippine pesos and was funded from Pacquiao's personal money.
The homes were not simply temporary shelters.
They represented permanent housing for families who previously did not have homes of their own.
The project contractor said at the time that the development was expected eventually to include 300 housing units on approximately four hectares of land Pacquiao had purchased.
For the families selected to receive houses, the impact was practical and immediate.
Housing is about far more than having four walls and a roof.
A stable home can mean greater physical security, more predictable living expenses, improved conditions for children and a permanent address from which a family can build a more stable future.
Pacquiao understood that kind of insecurity personally.
He had experienced poverty rather than merely observed it.
More Than 1,000 Families
The housing story became even more widely known in 2016.
Pacquiao publicly celebrated his efforts to provide free houses in Sarangani, saying that the projects were financed from his own pocket.
He stated that more than 1,000 families were beneficiaries and indicated that he intended to continue building.
Reports at the time reproduced his social-media statement in which he expressed happiness about providing houses free of charge to constituents in Sarangani Province.
He also connected his motivation to his Christian faith, citing biblical teachings about hospitality and using one's gifts to serve others.
The figure—more than 1,000 families—quickly spread across international media and social platforms.
It became one of the defining examples people used when discussing Pacquiao's philanthropy.
The story was powerful because of the contrast.
Here was a man who had gone from extreme poverty to extraordinary wealth.
Instead of merely purchasing symbols of success, he was also using some of that money to provide struggling families with something he himself had once lacked: security.
The Mayweather Money Connection Needs Context
One detail in the viral version of this story deserves clarification.
It is common to see posts claiming that Pacquiao took his earnings from the Floyd Mayweather fight and then used that money to build more than 1,000 houses.