Manny Pacquiao's son Emmanuel put his first career defeat behind to win his fifth amateur bout.
Pacquiao Jr has decided to follow in the footsteps of his famous father and picked up three decision victories before suffering a major upset defeat to debutant Chris Smith at San Fransisco's Irish Center back in June.
The boxing legend's son has faced criticism of his recent fights on social media, but has been looking to bounce back ever since. And his return ended in success picking up a decision victory over three-rounds against Dylan Merriken at the Quiet Cannon Country Club in Montebello, California.
Pacquiao Jr was competing at lightweight once again but looked much improved in the fight which served as a feature attraction on the undercard of Ryan Walsh's clash with Benjamin Whittaker last night. A beaming grin appeared on Pacquiao Jr's face as his hand was raised with the crowd in the small venue cheering in delight at his return to form.
Despite having a largely successful start to his boxing career his father, who is a former eight-division world champion, was initially against his son launching a career in the sport. However Pacquiao Jr has now earned the approval of his father who has congratulated on him previous victories as he continues his road to becoming a professional.
There is a lot of attention on the boxing legend's son particularly as he is training with his father's legendary former trainer Freddie Roach at his gym in LA. Pacquiao Jr has also worked with Mexican star Canelo Alvarez and a whole host of other high-profile stars while training.
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This has also seen him attract the wrong kind of attention including added pressure, but Pacquiao Jr has insisted he is just trying to improve one step at a time. “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.”
