Manny Pacquiao's son claimed victory his second amateur fight against Jonathan Barajas to continue his unbeaten start to his career.
The Filipino star launched a successful start to his career in San Diego two months ago as he looks to follow in his legendary father's footsteps. His latest venture came on Tom Loeffler's Hollywood Fight Nights where a big crowd was drawn to the Montebello Country Club to see the young star in action.
Pacquiao Jr claimed victory over Barajas by decision after three rounds with both men embracing after the final bell after an entertaining clash. Several stars were in attendance ringside including UFC president Dana White due to his involvement with the broadcast on UFC Fight Pass.
The 21-year-old was delighted with his latest performance and believes he has got better since his debut earlier this year. "I did better than my first one so," Pacquiao Jr told Fight Hype. I looked good I feel this time my performance was better than the last one. It has been a lot of work to make this progress and I like to get in there and show everything I do."
Pacquiao Jr even stunned his opponent during the fight which was a significant moment for the young star who had cruised to victory in his opening bout. His father was not present ringside for his second outing, having just recently lost his political campaign to become president of the Philippines.
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The rising star has received critics from the start of his career despite it being extremely early stages after posting footage of his work on social media. But Pacquiao Jr has leapt to defend himself and explained his hard work in training. “At first, I was just quietly going into it and stuff, but I guess it’s unavoidable. I’m trying my best. I have to get used to it,” Pacquiao Jr. told abs-cbn.com.
“I’ve constantly been training. I’ve been training for months [in the US], and this is all I want: get more experience, get better. “I think we’ll see in the future whether I will turn professional. Right now, I’m just trying to get better, to get more amateur fights, bring my record so we’ll see in the future.”
Pacquiao Jr has been training with legendary coach Freddie Roach at the Wildcard gym and has also worked with boxing star Canelo Alvarez. The Filipino is looking to recreate the glory days of his father who shared huge rivalries with the likes of Floyd Mayweather. His trainer Roach recently gave his approval to any fight between Pacquiao Jr and Karam Mayweather, stating: "I like that".
