The reaction of boxing legend and presidential candidate Manny Pacquiao to the victory of his eldest son Jimuel in his amateur debut in the US was short and sweet.
“Congratulations to my son Jimuel Pacquiao on fighting and winning his first U.S. amateur fight at junior welterweight! I’m so proud of you.”
This was Pacquiao’s post on his social media page in reaction to the impressive win by Jimuel over Mexican-American Andres Rosales on Sunday (Philippine time) at the House of Boxing Gym in San Diego, California.
While Pacquiao and his wife Jinkee were busy in the campaign trail in the Philippines, Jimuel has been in the U.S. training for months under Filipino trainer Marvin Somodio at the Wild Card Boxing Gym.
Somodio had also worked at Pacquiao’s corner many times as an assistant to Freddie Roach.
Unlike his father, Jimuel is a right-hander with a formidable one-two punch. He used mostly stiff jabs and overhand right in beating his opponent to the punch en route to a decision win in his first sanctioned amateur bout on US soil.
In a report by Ryan Songalia on ringtv.com, the match was attended by a packed crowd. “There were no knockdowns or scores read, only the announcement that Pacquiao in the red corner had emerged victorious.”
Songalia quoted Somodio that Jimuel “showed me that he has heart. He’ll get better and stronger.”
Somodio said they look forward to Jimuel’s second career bout and hopefully with his father Manny watching from ringside.
Jimuel, 21, fought in the welterweight division.
Manny started as a flyweight before moving to higher weight categories and amassing eight world division titles. He retired from boxing with a record of 62 wins, 39 by knockout, 8 losses and 2 draws.