By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
It was like watching Manny Pacquiao fight.
Jimuel Pacquiao, the eldest son of boxing’s only eight-division world champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, is looking to continue his father’s legacy after recording his second-straight amateur win in the US held at the Montebello Country Club arranged by Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions.
The talented youngster took down Jonathan Barajas of Mexico and scored a unanimous decision win, 30-29, and two judges scored the bout 29-28.
In his win against Barajas, Jimuel displayed the same signature three-punch combination he used in his win against Andres Rosales in a three-round junior welterweight fight – jab to the head, straight to the body, then another jab to the head combo that was perfectly executed several times in three rounds.
Jimuel opened the round with several left hook connections that earned him early points from the judges.
Aside from his fluid head movement and tremendous footwork, Jimuel also developed a one-two jab connection that became his setup for his three-punch offense.
Barajas came back in the next round and went aggressive throwing his uppercuts and right hooks but Jimuel’s slick movement and defense helped him register clean defensive blocks that were deflected by his gloves.
The third round put everyone to their feet as the two boxers engaged in a slugfest but it was Jimuel who landed the more efficient shots.
During the last 1:30 of the fight, Jimuel unleashed a clean three-punch combination that wowed the crowd and helped him seal the win for his final points.
The fight was graced by several international personalities in combat sports including Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White and Manny Pacquiao (MP) Promotions president Sean Gibbons.
