Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield visit boxing's pound-for-pound king Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao a surprise in the latter's Palazzo apartment in Los Angeles. Photo by Dyan Castillejo for abs-cbnNEWS.com

MANILA, Philippines - Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield paid boxing's pound-for-pound king Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao a surprise visit in the latter's Palazzo apartment in Los Angeles last weekend.

Holyfield, a former cruiserweight and heavyweight champion, expressed his admiration for Pacquiao, especially for his humility despite his success.

"He's a great fighter. I enjoy the spirit in him, because regardless of how bad he beats somebody, he never brags about it," Holyfield said. "He tells people, I did what I'm supposed to do."

"Either way it (the fight) comes out, he's always gonna be the winner, because whatever happens, he's humble, he goes out and does the very best that he could do, and that's it," he added.

Holyfield said faith was the key to Pacquiao's success inside and outside the boxing ring.

"The big thing is faith. Faith is the key to anything. Faith is part of having that confidence. The person who has confidence, they use what they have. They never complain about, I don't have this, I'm not tall enough, I'm not strong enough," Holyfield said. "They just go out there and put their best foot forward."

"What he has done, he's been able to do the things that people tell him he couldn't do," Holyfield said of Pacquiao.

Holyfield, a five-time world heavyweight champion, holds landmark victories over some of the great heavyweights of his era, including George Foreman, Riddick Bowe, Larry Holmes, and Michael Moorer. He is especially remembered for his two fights against Mike Tyson, the second of which saw Tyson bite off Holyfield's ear in one of the more bizarre bouts in boxing history.

Holyfield said he can relate to what Pacquiao has gone through since he also had to overcome challenges to become the world heavyweight champion.

"When I was a kid, they told me I wasn't gonna be nothing," he said, adding that his coach told him not to quit boxing, because he had the potential to be a world champion.

"If you don't quit, it will become your way and 20 years later, I was heavyweight champion of the world," he said.

Pacquiao, for his part, said he was honored to be visited by Holyfield, who was one of his idols in the sport.

"Halos lahat ng fights nito, I watched it. I have a DVD ng mga fights n'ya," Pacquiao said. "Ito ang lagi kong pinapanood nung nag-umpisa pa lang ako."

Holyfield also commented on Pacquiao's upcoming fight against Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez, saying that the key to winning the fight is to make adjustments.

"It was always easy for me to fight a guy the second time than the first time, because the first time, I don't know what he's gonna do," Holyfield said. "So I just got to make adjustments. Life is about adjustments." -- With a report from Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News