Harsh initiation

Jimuel Pacquiao found out first-hand Saturday night (Sunday in Manila) how hard it is to fight as a professional.

His legendary father and namesake Manny Pacquiao had repeatedly told him that pro boxing is no joke and when he faced fellow debutant Brendan Lally in a four-round lightweight clash at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California, his dad’s words proved prophetic.

While he and Lally battled to a majority draw, the senior Pacquiao was right there to provide words of encouragement and likewise of enlightenment for his ambitious son.

“I cannot stop him if he wants to continue to box,” said Pacquiao during a post-fight interview with those who covered the event.

One judges scored it for the 24-year-old Pacquiao, 39-37, while the other two submitted identical 38-38 scores.

It was an outcome everyone in the Pacquiao camp didn’t want as all of them were looking forward to a rousing performance by Jimuel, who admitted that he has a lot to learn.

“Definitely, I will train more. I only had 10 fights in the amateurs. This was a big step. Next time, I will push more. I will do better next,” said Jimuel, whose girlfriend Carolina gave birth to a girl just eight days before the fight.

Still, the Hall of Famer told his son that he has to go the extra mile in training to improve and that he expects him to “do much better next time.”

“It was understandable because he didn’t have a lot of experience. Good that he finished four rounds,” said Pacquiao, who turns 47 on 17 December, and still looking for a big-money and meaningful fight.

He admitted to being helpless when the Chicago-bred Lally appeared to be taking charge of the bout.

“I wanted to shout (and give instructions) but I could not,” said Pacquiao, who sat beside a near-hysterical wife Jinkee.

The show — the first — was staged by Manny Pacquiao Promotions (MPP) under the guidance of Sean Gibbons, who was thrilled by the huge turnout.

Pacquiao himself said in the same interview that MPP is going to be back in 2026 and a possibility is a world title fight in one of those proposed cards.