Over the years boxing has seen many sons attempt to replicate the successes of their fathers before them and this weekend sees Jimuel Pacquiao, son of the great Manny Pacquiao make his professional debut.
Manny Pacquiao had an extensive amateur background with over 60 bouts in comparison to Jimuel who has barely had ten before turning over tomorrow.
His father went down as one of if not the most successful champions in the history of the sport being the only eight-division world champion ever; Pacquiao broke records that will likely never be touched, fighting so many greats throughout his career.
In June, Pacquiao returned to the ring for the first time in four years where he took WBC welterweight world champion, Mario Barrios to a draw over twelve rounds with one of the judges in fact giving him the nod.
This won’t be the first occasion a son attempts greatness, inspired by their dad and some of the best examples are below:
Nigel Benn & Conor Benn
Conor, while not achieving near what his father has done in his career yet, has really impressed with a pressure, come-forward style and some nasty knockouts on his resume.
Benn, despite a lack of amateur pedigree is one of Britains biggest draws, promoted by Matchroom & Eddie Hearn he continues to grow every time he enters the ring.
Just a couple of weeks ago, Benn picked up a career-best win, producing a twelve round beatdown of Chris Eubank Jr after losing their first fight.
Benn has fought at 160lbs his last two fights but has confirmed he will now move back down to a more natural welterweight division.
Benn’s next fight may be for a world title, having called out some of the current champions including Devin Haney, Lewis Crocker and Mario Barrios.
His father Nigel also became one of Britain’s biggest names, with a very similar aggressive style that has been passed down to his son.
Benn became WBC middleweight champion with a win over Mauro Galvano, travelling to Italy to take the world title back to the UK, his son has admitted a career goal of his is to replicate this, lifting the green and gold WBC belt his father did 33-years-ago.
‘The Destroyer’ also picked up the WBO super-middleweight world title defeating Doug DeWitt.
Chris Eubank Sr and Benn fought twice with Eubank winning their first clash and an epic draw in the rematch leaving many feeling Benn was unlucky not to get the nod.
Chris Eubank & Chris Eubank Jr
Chris Eubank Sr won his super-middleweight title at White Hart Lane against Michael Watson in the 12th round with a stoppage that should have come much sooner.
He claimed his middleweight belt in Birmingham in his first exchange with Benn, a fierce clash with both men hurt and the fight that made Eubank a real star.
He stopped Benn in the ninth round in an absolute classic.
’Next Gen’ built a massive audience from the very start as a result of his bloodline which he would later move away from, opting to train with Roy Jones Jr instead after a very public altercation with his father.
Eubank Jr has faced some greats including George Groves, James DeGale & Arthur Abraham but has never lifted a full world title himself.
He became interim WBA middleweight champion in 2015 after stopping Dmitry Chudinov.
He later reunited with his father earlier this year on the day of his first fight with Conor Benn, reigniting an over 30-year-long feud between the Eubanks and the Benns in a twelve round thriller which saw Eubank come out victorious.
In the rematch Eubank Jr looked a shell of the man in April and even less of the fighter he was in the earlier stages of his career suggesting he may be heading towards retirement, as Benn ran out a comfortable points winner.
Ricky Hatton & Campbell Hatton
Ricky Hatton goes down as not only one of Britain’s greats but one of boxing’s most loved character’s to date, very few if any have been able to unite a city like Hatton & Manchester; building a fan base that is yet to be replicated years on since he left the sport.
Hatton was not only a fan favourite but a warrior in the ring, he became WBA & IBF light-welterweight champion with wins over Kostya Tszyu, where he stopped Tszyu in a fight so many recall witnessing live from the arena to this day.
Hatton shared the ring with two of the most recognisable names in history including Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, where around 30,000 fans travelled from the UK to Vegas to cheer the ‘hitman’ on.
Hatton’s son became a fan favourite from the early stages of his career and became a massive name despite limited amateur experience.
Hatton announced the end of his boxing career in October last year following back-to-back losses to James Flint, focusing on other avenues in the future.
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