Manny Pacquiao has congratulated his son Emmanuel on winning an unanimous decision in his American amateur boxing debut after the youngster outpointed Andres Rosales in a tough first Stateside fight.
The legendary former eight-division world champion wasn't keen on seeing his son follow in his footsteps initially, despite being one of the greatest fighters of all time. But he appears to have warmed to the idea of seeing his eldest get in the ring, and congratulated the 21-year-old on a big win.
Pacquiao took to social media to congratulate his son on the victory, telling him he was proud of his efforts in the ring. "Congratulations to my son Emmanuel Pacquiao on fighting and winning his first US amateur fight at junior welterweight," he wrote on social media. "I’m so proud of you, #TeamPacquiao."
Pacquiao Jr, who goes by the nickname Jimuel, was put out for his debut by the Wild Card Boxing gym, where his father trained for a large number of his major fights. He struggled at times with Rosales, but ultimately had his hand raised and is expected to be out again soon.
The former boxer had said previously that he would rather his son, who has over a quarter of a million followers on social media and had considered a career as an influencer, take up a different sport. The younger Pacquiao has flirted with working in modelling, as well as other possible paths, but appears to have decided that boxing is now the sport for him.
"We are really discouraging him [from boxing]," Pacquiao Sr said in 2019. "In our home, we don't have any gloves or boxing equipment. But we have a basketball court. It pains me to see him box because I know how hard it is."
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Pacquiao Sr was unable to fly to America to attend his son's fight as he remains on the road to the Presidency in his native Philippines. The former boxer is running to take the prestigious role in his capacity as the representative of the PDP-Laban party; a democratic socialist party.
The ring legend was boxing as recently as last year, when he was defeated in an upset performance against Yordenis Ugas for the welterweight title after Errol Spence Jr pulled out of their initially planned bout. After being thoroughly dominated by the less fancied Ugas, Pacquiao opted to call it a day, and decided instead to dedicate himself fully to a career in politics.
