Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao’s oldest son is following in his footsteps.
Per Josh Peter of USA Today, Jimuel Pacquiao made his professional boxing debut on Saturday night in a four-round lightweight bout and fought Brendan Lally to a majority draw at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California. One judge scored the fight 39-37 in the younger Pacquiao’s favor, while the other two judges scored it 38-38.
“Next time I fight, I’m going to push the pace much harder,” Jimuel Pacquiao said. “I’m happy I was able to experience this. Fighting as an amateur is a different experience than fighting professionally. I only had ten amateur fights, so this was a huge step up.”
Manny Pacquiao was in attendance at the event and watched his son’s fight from ringside. He said he plans to personally help Jimuel get his first career win in his next match.
“I’m very proud of my son,” the Hall of Famer said. “I always told Jimuel fighting is not easy and that you need to work hard. My plan is to have him fight on my undercard so I can train with him throughout the whole camp.”