The Man Behind Manny Pacquiao is Trying to Build the Philippines’ Next Combat Sports Empire

Arnold Vegafria has spent much of the past decade standing a few feet away from arguably the greatest Asian athlete of all time. As Manny Pacquiao’s longtime business manager, he has watched boxing turn a poor kid from Mindanao into a world champion, senator and global brand.

“Pacquiao was just the beginning. The potential to grow boxing and combat sports in the Philippines is there,” Vegafria told KO On SI.

Vegafria is also a filmmaker, talent manager and beauty-pageant executive who has controlled the Miss World Philippines franchise. He has developed an instinct for celebrity-making that he now hopes to apply to a new generation of Filipino fighters.

“I have worked with actors, beauty queens and athletes. The industries are different, but the challenge is the same: you must recognize talent, build the right team around it and create opportunities.”

At the top of the list of boxers he is working with now is Charly Suarez. The undefeated former Olympian arrived in the United States on relatively short notice and gave Emanuel Navarrete a far more difficult fight than many expected.

The fight was eventually ruled a no contest after a controversial series of events so typical of boxing that they are almost not worth rehashing.

Here is the gist: Had the original ruling held that the cut above Navarrete’s eye came from a Suarez punch, Suarez would have won by eighth-round stoppage and become the WBO junior-lightweight champion. Instead, Suarez remains undefeated, holds the WBO International super-featherweight title and is still pursuing another opportunity against Navarrete.

“Charly showed the world that he can compete at the championship level. He did not return with the title, but he proved that he deserves another chance to win it.”

Vegafria continues to hope to develop more talent, which is why he has helped reinvigorate the URCC, the Philippines’ pioneering mixed martial arts promotion. His vision is not limited to boxing or MMA.

“We would love to partner with BKB or BKFC and have a unification. Filipino fighters deserve the opportunity to compete in major international events—and eventually to bring those events to the Philippines.”

Could the Philippines become a hub for BKB boxing?

Leading bare-knuckle promotion BKB suggested they are looking at the Philippines as a possible future site for expansion.

“The Philippines is one of the great fighting nations. It’s produced some of the world's greatest champions - from Manny Pacquiao to Rolando Dy," said David Tetrault, the CEO of BKB Boxing. "BKB is a global company with truly global ambitions. Our growth has been astronomical and there is growing demand all around the world for us to bring our events to new territories. This weekend we make our debut in Mexico, and we’d love to bring bare-knuckle action to the Philippines very, very soon.”

The idea is not far-fetched. The current BKB 154 lb champion Rolando Dy has big wins against Roberto Duran Jr. and former two-division boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi.

That is where Vegafria sees himself: not simply as a manager standing beside the next champion, but as a business leader capable of building the platform beneath an entire generation.

Pacquiao became a global industry almost by himself. Vegafria’s next ambition is to make sure the Philippines does not have to wait for another once-in-a-generation phenomenon.

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