When news broke that Manny Pacquiao’s son was about to make his professional debut, all eyes were on him. The public was fraught with questions: Is he good enough to carry his father’s legacy? Is he anywhere near the fighter Manny Pacquiao was? This weekend at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, those questions finally began to find answers as Emmanuel Pacquiao Jr. stepped into the ring for the first time.

Pacquiao Jr. faced fellow debutant, 23-year-old Brendan Lally, and once the bell rang, it became clear he was nowhere near the level of his legendary father, who amassed 73 professional fights. And become an eight-division champion. The judges scored the four-rounder 39–37 for Pacquiao Jr., while the remaining saw it 38–38, resulting in a majority draw. The performance also prompted a reality check from former WBO super featherweight champion Jamel Herring.

Emmanuel Pacquiao Jr. can’t be taught what his father had 

“I’m watching Manny Pacquiao Jr.’s pro debut right now…,” Herring wrote on X. “And he’s making this fight look a lot tougher than it should be for a first outing. It’s one of those moments that really shows why people call boxing a poor man’s sport.” Herring then highlighted how Manny Pacquiao’s early days in boxing were nothing like his son’s debut. “The fighters who come from absolutely nothing usually carry a different kind of hunger, that edge, that grind, that chip on their shoulder you can’t teach.”

“When you grow up with comfort and security, you don’t need to fight the same way. You don’t have that dog that comes from survival,” he added. Manny Pacquiao’s rise in boxing was forged under extreme hardship. Growing up in deep poverty in General Santos City, he ran away at 15, slept on cardboard in the streets of Manila, and fought in makeshift rings for a few dollars—just enough to send home. He turned pro at 16 in 1995, as a junior flyweight, with no amateur experience, often facing fully grown men while struggling to eat.

Pacquiao’s son, meanwhile, trained under Marvin Somodio at the famed Wild Card Gym—Somodio being a longtime assistant to Manny. Originally, Pacquiao Jr. was expected to debut on the undercard of his father’s July comeback fight. But Manny ultimately pulled him from the card, realizing it would be too emotionally taxing to watch his son fight first. In hindsight, it was the right call. 

Manny himself fought to a majority-decision draw against Mario Barrios. Had he watched his son’s draw before his own fight, who knows how that might have affected him? Which leads to the real question: What did Manny Pacquiao think of his son’s debut?

Manny Pacquiao shares reaction to son’s debut

Manny Pacquiao admitted he was a bundle of nerves while watching his son make his professional boxing debut. The Filipino icon revealed that his “muscles were shaking” and his “heart [was] beating too much” as he witnessed the four-round majority draw. Despite the tense night, Pacquiao said he was pleased with what he saw. 

“He did well for his first fight—he didn’t have a lot of experience as an amateur, so for me, I’m satisfied with this performance,” he said via Fight Hub TV. While acknowledging they were expecting more, he added that it was important for his son to “experience a professional fight like that.” Pacquiao also stressed the difficulties of transitioning to the pro ranks. 

“I told him that it’s not easy… this professional fight is not different to sparring or training.” Looking ahead, Pacquiao said he won’t stop his son from continuing but insisted, “He needs to improve his instincts and focus… I’m gonna supervise his training.”

Having said that, it appears Emmanuel Pacquiao Jr. didn’t have the start to pro boxing that he might have hoped for. However, at least he has his father to support him. He might not know the struggles his father endured, but he can try his best to live up to them. What did you think of the fight?