By: Sean Crose
Jimuel Pacquiao, the oldest son of boxing legend Manny Pacquiao made his professional boxing debut Saturday night in California against fellow first-timer Brendan Lally. A high school teacher, Lally made for an interesting opponent for the the son of boxing royalty. The fight was broadcast live on ESPN Knockout and was scheduled for four in the lightweight division. While it was by no means a major fight, the fact that two men with colorful backgrounds were making their debut on television upped the curiosity factor exponentially for a bout featuring two first-timers. It was simply too interesting a pairing to ignore.
The elder Pacquiao could be seen in front of ESPN cameras before the fight giving his son advice. Soon, however the 24 year old son of boxing royalty would be left to his own devices. The opening chapter saw each man starting off by putting his pedal to the metal. There’s no feeling out process as each fighter threw shots. It was an exciting if not sloppy opening round. The second was likewise, a high octane affair. Indeed It was hard to figure out who was the better fighter though Pacquiao may have edged it with better punching. Lally was very much in the game though, however. It would be interesting to see how the rest of the fight played out.
The third largely belonged to Lally though there’s no doubt that Pacquiao landed some very effective punches. Yet Lally, it must be said, pursued, fired at and landed on his man throughout. The fourth and final round saw each man giving it his all. Once again Lally moved forward while Pacquiao aimed to fire hard from the ropes. Still, Lally may have told the tale with his aggression. There was no doubt that this was a difficult fight to call nonetheless. And, when all was said and done the judges ruled it a draw.
It wasn’t a great fight as both men could be sloppy… but it was a fun, high energy contest regardless.
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