Manny Pacquiao's Son Jimuel Suffers First Loss In Boxing

Jimuel Pacquiao, son of legendary boxer Manny Pacquiao, just experienced his first loss in boxing.

Last Saturday, Jimuel was handed his first defeat as an amateur boxer. The fight ended in a split decision declaring Ken Danila of Imus, Cavite as winner. It was reportedly a three-round 140-lb friendly boxing match in Novaliches, Quezon City.

Manny’s 18-year-old eldest son has confirmed his loss to The Manila Times through a phone interview. According to Jimuel, his opponent was much experienced than him. But despite being handed his first loss, Jimuel is still determined to pursue his boxing career.

“Tuloy pa rin po ako sa boxing (I will continue boxing),” Jimuel said.

Danila, on the other hand, begged to disagree with Jimuel’s accusation that he is a much experienced fighter. As per Danila, he has been fighting for just nearly three months and he hopes to move to pro boxing in the future.

“Gusto ko pong maging world champion saka magpo-pro po ako (I want to become a world champion and to turn pro). Magtatatlong buwan pa lang po ako nagbo-boxing (I’ve been boxing for only three months),” Danila told The Manila Times via online interview on Monday.

After defeating Jimuel, Danila also stated that Jimuel’s father Manny Pacquiao is his “idol.”

In relation to Danila’s plans to go pro, he admitted that he considers his victory over Jimuel, who has the blood of a boxing icon running in his veins as “morale-boosting .”

Last June, Manny has expressed his disapproval to Jimuel’s desire to follow his footsteps in boxing. According to the eight-division title holder, he has already advised his son that boxing comes with a lot of difficulties. However, Jimuel is still persistent with his dreams.

“That's what he wants. We already advised him that boxing is so difficult, hard. You have to undergo hard work, training, discipline. We discouraged him. (I told him) ‘I think you have to go to school, manage the business that we have,’” Pacquiao told Yahoo Sports last June.

Manny appeared to be somewhat retired in trying to stop his son from entering boxing. In fact, last month, the two were spotted intensely training together inside the boxing ring.

Before losing to Danila, Jimuel won his previous fight against Kim Daryl Marquez via unanimous decision in Muntinlupa last June 29. His fight against Marquez was even featured in ABS-CBN’s Sports U last July where Jimuel could be seen putting on an impressive performance inside the ring.