News that Manny Pacquiao has discouraged his son to lace up gloves stirred some interest lately, and heaven only knows if Emmanuel Jimuel would relent on his dream of pursuing a boxing career.
While Jimuel showed some form in a two-round bout against an unheralded opponent, the reality is it will be very hard for him to equal his father?s accomplishments like winning world titles in eight divisions and being among the top pay-per-view (PPV) draws in his era.
But then, who is going to stop the sons of accomplished fighters from emulating their fathers? The sport?s history has numerous stories of boxers following in the footsteps of their fathers, with many of them, however, falling short of expectations especially if their fathers were among the top dogs in their eras.
Case in point was Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., who held the World Boxing Council middleweight (160 pounds) world title from June 2011 to September 2012, racking up three successful defenses before losing it to Sergio Martinez in a unification bout. He is the son of Julio Cesar Chavez, considered one of the greatest boxers of all time, winning titles in three weight divisions and racking up an impressive record of 107-6-2 with 86 knockouts.
While the elder Chavez faltered late in his career against up-and-coming fighters like Oscar Dela Hoya, nobody can take away his impressive legacy making him among the all-time greats in the sport.
Compared to his father, Chavez Jr. was a big fighter at 6?1?. But he failed to capitalize on his size while the elder Chavez at 5?7? relied on grit and raw courage to mow down his opponents. Maybe Chavez Jr. was better off as a movie star given his good looks.
On the distaff, Floyd Mayweather Sr. never won a world title and closed his career with a record of 28-6-1 with 17 KOS. And we all know what his son Floyd Jr. has achieved ? winning world titles in five divisions and remaining undefeated to this day. Floyd Jr. was also one of the top PPV draws in his era sharing the limelight with Pacquiao, among others.
At present, there are two sons of now retired former world champions who show potential to be like their fathers: welterweight (147 pounds) Conor Benn, the son of Nigel, one of the best champions at super middleweight (168 pounds); and Chris Eubank Jr. also a super middleweight, the son of Chris Eubank, also one of the best champions also at 168 pounds.
Conor and Chris Jr but have yet to gain prominence in the sport like their fathers. Chris Jr., however, is ranked at number eight by The Ring in its list of top super middleweights. The younger Eubank has a record of 27-2 with 21 KOs.
Now back to Limuel ? I still do not want to see him lacing up gloves because he will always be measured with his father?s accomplishments, which is hard to duplicate.
And I really do not know if Limuel knows of the realities of taking so many blows to the head, especially if he emulates his father?s fighting style.
Most Filipino fighters still fight the ?sapakan? way, or land one or two blows even if it means getting hit once or twice. While some Filipino fighters have gravitated towards becoming boxers (rather than punchers), do not expect much of them to become highly skilled counterpunchers in the mold of the younger Mayweather.
We did have highly skilled fighters before who became world champions like Gerry Pe?alosa. And there?s Donnie ?Ahas? Nietes. But they are a rarity. Even the great Flash Elorde was a brawler if the occasion called for it.
Perhaps Limuel can adopt a more ?sustainable? fighting style like his father?s nemesis Mayweather Jr. and initially aim for an Olympic gold.
But truth is, Limuel may not have a hunger his father had when Manny took up boxing, as his father literally had to fight his way out of poverty.
