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Manny Pacquiao said he doesn’t want his 18-year-old son, Jimuel, to become a boxer.
The eight-division world boxing champion told ABS-CBN News (via Steve Kim of ESPN.com) he’s trying to push his son in a different athletic direction.
“We are really discouraging him. In our home we don’t have any gloves or boxing equipment,” Pacquiao said Wednesday. “But we have a basketball court.”
Video of Jimuel going through a training session in the ring earlier this month generated a lot of attention and raised questions about whether he’d attempt to follow in his father’s footsteps.
Pacquiao said he explained to his son that he only pursued boxing because his family was poor and it gave him a path to “support my family,” per Kim.
“It pains me to see him box because I know how hard it is,” he told ABS-CBN News.
Nevertheless, the 40-year-old Filipino superstar has continued his own professional career despite also serving as a senator in the Philippines.
He defeated Adrien Broner by unanimous decision in January and proceeded to propose a rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. after their hyped encounter in 2015 fell flat, with Mayweather winning a snoozefest.
While Pacquiao is hoping Jimuel ultimately chooses a career path outside the ring, he conceded his son “really wants to [box].”
