At Box Pro, we’re always stressing the importance of boxers and branding, and how it can be used to increase their marketability. After Pacquiao’s recent win over Ricky Hatton, we thought we would take a look at his branding to start off a new ‘Boxing Branding’ category in the blog. This crest was designed by Nike, so as you can imagine there has been a lot of thought, research and careful planning that has gone into it – although I imagine most people won’t realise this, and will just think that it looks cool!

The first thing I noticed in the crest was the eagle. A lot of crests use wings, so you may think that this is a little generic, but it is actually the Phillipines national bird (the monkey-eating eagle), and it symbolizes courage.

The eagle is a giant forest raptor endemic to the Philippines, and is one of the largest and most powerful predatory birds in the world

Above the eagle are raised fists, which symbolize the huge number of supporters that Manny has (he is a superstar in the Phillipines). The central gloved fist is a left hand, and this represents Manny’s south paw stance. The gloved fist is much larger than the other fists to show the power in his left hand.

Down each side of the crest there are leaves and flowers, which are actually banana leaves and jasmine flowers (Sampaguita), the national flowers of the Phillipines.

The Sampaguita is a symbol of purity, humility and strength

Within the crest is a reference to the National flag, and the sun rays at the top are from the eight rayed sun found on the flags national coat of arms. The three stars are symbolic of the 3 islands of the Phillipines, with the biggest central star symbolising the island on which Manny was born.

Finally, the crest contains the Nike logo which is at the very bottom of the crest. For a more detailed breakdown of the Pacquiao crest, you can check out this great blog post by John Monte. As you can see, there is much more to the crest than you may realise. Although I wouldn’t say that it was necessary for all branding to be this detailed, I think this a super example of just what can be done.