What’s behind the name? Quite a lot if that name is Pacquiao. Just ask Jimuel Pacquiao, son of the great Manny Pacquiao. A well-spoken, likeable teenage man, the younger Pacquiao will make his professional ring debut Saturday night in Temecula, California. Pacquiao was scheduled to make his debut on the same card as his celebrated father a few months ago, when Pacquiao impressed in a comeback fight against Mario Barios. These plans may not have been realized due to the injury to the younger Pacquiao. Now, however, the 24-year-old wants to leave his mark on the martial art.
“I’ve wanted this for a while,” Pacquiao told Marcos Villegas, “but I have a really good team that always makes sure I’m ready.” What about the home team? “My parents are scared, that’s obvious,” he admitted. He actually said that his father never stopped giving me instructions on what to do. That makes sense, of course, but Pacquiao will be on his own on Saturday when he faces Chicago high school English teacher Brendan Lally, who will also be making his professional debut. “I knew,” Lally said, “if I passed up this opportunity to do something so amazing for me, the coolest thing in the world, on the coolest stage possible, I knew I would regret it.”
Like Pacquiao, Lally comes from a boxing background, which makes the intriguing combination of the son of a legend and a high school teacher even more intriguing. With that in mind, Pacquiao, who is trained by Marvin Somodio, has a top-class team behind him. After all, Somodio is a protégé of Pacquiao’s celebrated trainer, Freddie Roach. As it stands, the plan is to successfully guide the younger Pacquiao, one step at a time.
“Right now, we’re taking it fight-wise,” Pacquiao told Villegas. “Let’s see how far I can go.” While it’s strenuous to imagine anyone achieving what Pacquiao’s father achieved, it’s worth noting that some fighters have managed to rise above their fathers’ reputations. Floyd Mayweather Sr. and Floyd Mayweather Jr. come to mind. An intriguing but little talked about aspect of boxing is that a fighter’s opponent is often himself. While we can’t see into the younger Pacquiao’s mind, we can assume he doesn’t need to box for his family’s financial success. However, on Saturday he will still slip between the ropes to face another fighter who, of course, does not have to box.
Without a doubt, each player will have a lot to prove to themselves.
Keyshawn Davis says he still doesn’t know why a fight never broke out with Devin Haney after talks between both camps earlier this year.
Davis was talking about Haney after he dominated Nahir Albright for 12 rounds on Saturday night in Norfolk. Although Keyshawn won a wide unanimous decision over Albright, he later admitted that he had been in bigger fights before the rematch was finalized.
“I went up to Bill in January and he told me to keep my word after the fight,” Keyshawn later told the media. “Why it didn’t happen, I don’t know.”
Davis also revealed that he tried to secure fights with Lamont Roach Jr. and Oscar Duarte before returning to fight Albright.
“I was on the phone with Lamont Roach trying to make this happen,” Davis said. “I also tried to contact Oscar Duarte.”
The Norfolk native made it clear after the fight that he viewed a rematch with Albright as an inferior option compared to the opponents he originally wanted.
“I wanted to fight a better opponent,” Davis said. “He’s actually a decent player. He’s just not at the highest level.”
Davis dominated most of the rematch despite a two-point deduction after Albright hit the clinch in the seventh round. He controlled the action with faster hands, cleaner combinations and stronger work towards the end of the fight.
After the victory, Davis reiterated that he is open to more fights with bigger names.
“Whoever wants to fight the businessman, let them do it,” Davis said.
Dan Ambrose is a boxing journalist at Boxing News 24, respected for his direct analysis and extensive coverage of the global fighting landscape. His reports focus on the most essential fights, division development and the most discussed stories in sports.
Filip Hrgovic made it basic for Dave Allen and took advantage of the moments after the fight to send a chilling message to rising star Moses Itauma.
Doncaster fans were unable to lift hometown hero Allen to the level of Hrgovic, who dominated from the opening bell until coach Jamie Moore threw in the towel to spare his players another day.
Croatian Hrgovic quickly apologized to the fans in the stadium.
“I’m sorry guys. I know I’m not the favorite guy here. That’s the way it is, that’s boxing. Thank you to Dave Allen, his team, Queensberry and DAZN for this event. I’m pushing forward to become the heavyweight champion of the world.
“I started quickly because I saw all my punches connecting. He was very awkward from the beginning, so I wanted to finish him quickly to make a statement.”
“I want to fight anyone in the division. Moses, anyone. I just have to sit down with the manager and the team, see if there are any injuries or cuts. Give me a mirror, I’ll sign a contract now… I never run away from any opponent… Listen, if I’m fit, there’s no problem for me. We have to see what’s going on. I need to rest. Moses will never make it to the promised land. Do you know what I mean?”
Promoter George Warren has made it clear that Itauma-Hrgovic is the target, but he is aware that the next few days will be crucial to see if the schedule is right for the Croatian, who had a miniature cut on his skin before going to the towel.
“Yes, we can… This fight is already here. Finished. Filip, when he re-signed with Queensberry, was left on the contract on the basis that this fight was one of the options we could offer him. As he said, he has a slight scratch in his eye and he needs to go and make sure everything is OK.
“Moses is booked for August. As soon as we get back to the office next week, that’s my job. To finish and announce this fight. This guy is a world-class operator and if Moses wants to be world champion, Filip wants to be world champion; they’re going to have to deal with it at some point, so let’s deal with it now.”
Welterweight Kelvin Davis (16-1, 8 KO) escaped with a split decision victory over Peter Dobson (17-4, 10 KO) after a hard-fought 10-round fight that drew noisy boos from the crowd after the result was announced. The judges scored it 99-91 and 97-93 for Davis, while the third judge scored it 98-92 for Dobson.
Davis boxed effectively early on, using his jab, foot movement and reach to keep Dobson out and gain the advantage in the early rounds. Dobson had difficulty getting close enough to land consistently in the first half of the fight as Davis remained disciplined and chose areas with cleaner strikes.
Dobson had more success in the second half of the fight, getting inside and landing to the body. As the action became increasingly brutal and physical, Davis spent more time on the ropes and in clinches.
Dobson’s aggression and work in the middle helped put an end to the fight, and a few delayed rounds proved challenging to score. Davis continued to land enough pointed counters and straight shots to convince the two judges that he had done enough to secure the victory.
Many fans online and in the arena reacted negatively to the decision, especially due to the wide score of 99-91 in favor of Davis. Several unofficial scorecards indicated that the fight was much closer together, and some viewers felt that Dobson did enough to force a draw or provide an advantage in the decision.
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