By the time you read this, Jimuel Pacquiao, the eldest son of our “Pambansang Kamao” will have made his pro debut against Brendan Lally in California, who incidentally is also making his pro debut.
Jimuel had an amateur record of 6-4 under his belt, while it’s almost dead even with 5-4 for Lally.
At the weigh-ins, Jimuel came in ready and fit at a lean 134.8 lbs and will be debuting as a lightweight. Of course, the only reason why this fight is being talked about is that he is Manny’s son.
In reality, this is just another Pinoy fighter entering the pro ranks and meritocracy in the ring will ultimately determine whether he achieves fistic greatness.
PEDIGREE. It would be terribly unfair to outright expect great things from Jimuel as there have been very few successful father- and- son tandems in boxing history.
The most recent that comes to mind are Floyd Sr. and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Floyd Sr. was a good fighter , not a great one, but his son is one of the greatest to ever lace on a pair of gloves.
It’s very seldom to see a father and son tandem who are both successful at the highest level. Usually, one will be greater than the other and another prime example are Julio Cesar Chavez Sr and Julio Jr.
Julio Sr could very well be the best fighter to come out of Mexico, but unfortunately, Julio Jr fizzled out after a great start to his career. In his last fight, he woefully lost to Jake Paul. That pretty much sums up where he is at right now.
Still, we hope Jimuel will have a good career and make his papa proud.
BENAVIDEZ. Speaking of great careers, David Benavidez continues to wreck havoc in the light heavyweight division. Last weekend, he demolished Anthony Yarde (27-4,24KOs) inside 7 rounds.
As can be gleaned from his record, Yarde came in with serious power in his hands, but Benavidez was unfazed and started teeing off in the middle rounds.
He flummoxed him with punches in the seventh which led to 2 knockdowns. At around the 2-minute mark the ref called for the denouement of the fight after seeing Yarde hurt and helpless and reeling along the ropes.
“The Mexican Monster” Benavidez still holds an unblemished record at 31-0, 25KOs and should be penciled in for a huge fight against Dmitry Bivol who holds the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO diadems after avenging a prior loss to Arthur Beterbiev. The latter would also be a perfect matchup for Benavidez and would surely be a fan- friendly donnybrook between exciting bangers.
VERBATIM. “I don’t compare power a lot. Pacquiao can definitely crack, Tank Davis can definitely crack-that’s one of the few fights where I have touched the canvas, but year that old man (Pacquiao) is strong.
- Mario Barrios (boxingnewsonline.net)
LAST ROUND. It’s on my boxing trainer Rasheid Bacus who recently celebrated his birthday. Cheers!
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