JIMUEL Pacquiao had a shaky pro debut and escaped with a majority draw against American Brendan Lally on Sunday in Temecula, California.
The eldest son of boxing legend Manny Pacquiao struggled against his taller opponent from Chicago and appeared winded by the end of the four-round bout at lightweight.
Nonetheless, the 24-year-old Pacquiao salvaged a majority draw via scores of 39-37, 38-38, and 38-38 in an outcome that received a mixed reaction from a sellout crowd at the Pechanga Resort and Casino.
The Filipino boxing great accompanied his son – trained by Marvin Somodio – in his first ring walk as a pro, and then watched the fight at ringside beside wife Jinkee.
The younger Pacquiao came out firing in the earlier rounds, but couldn’t sustain the momentum, as Lally began to pressure and ultimately outworked him going home.
Judge Damian Walton had Pacquiao winning in his scorecard, while Ron Scott Stevens and Eddie Hernandez Sr. both saw it as a draw.
Pacquiao promises to be better
"For a first fight, I'm definitely pushing it more now that I experienced it. It's definitely different from the amateurs," said Jimuel after the bout when interviewed by Fight Hub TV.
"This is a big step and definitely the next time, I'll be pushing it harder."
Jimuel’s first professional fight came a week after his partner gave birth to their firstborn.
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