In recent months, a buzz has returned to the Wild Card Gym that had been missing for several years. The Hollywood gym run by Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach has become as synonymous with Filipino boxing as Araneta Coliseum, but the recent return of Manny Pacquiao to the space actually has the Wild Card vibing like the early 2010s, when Pacquiao and seemingly every other Filipino boxer of note made the gym their training base.
Although the jury is still out on exactly how the boxing public at large feels about Pacquiao’s return to the ring at age 46, following his four-year retirement, there is no ambiguity about how the Philippines has received the news. Pacquiao brought unprecedented prosperity to the sport in the country, and was one of the sport’s most beloved boxers for more than a decade. His Saturday fight against welterweight titleholder Mario Barrios, which will be broadcast on PPV.com and Amazon Prime Video pay-per-view in the United States, will air for free on a slightly delayed basis on two channels in the Philippines, with several options showing the fight live via pay-per-view on both television and apps.
Such has been Pacquiao’s pull that his popularity has rubbed off on his compatriots, creating opportunities for Filipino boxers, who had been primarily viewed as “opponents” and are often now considered in hopes of uncovering another diamond in the rough – perhaps even the next Pacquiao.
Two Filipino boxers promoted by Pacquiao – former WBC featherweight titleholder Mark Magsayo and 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Eumir Marcial – will have spots on Saturday’s undercard, when Pacquiao will face Barrios at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The spots underneath a Pacquiao main event have traditionally been coveted opportunities for Filipino boxers, as a large percentage of the Philippines’ 100-million plus citizens will be paying attention to the event early on a Sunday morning local time.
Magsayo, who will face Jorge Mata in a 10-round junior lightweight bout prior to the pay-per-view portion of the bill, is fighting for the second time on a Pacquiao card. He says Pacquiao has been giving back in other ways, taking more time to offer guidance and advice to the boxers training alongside him.
“Boxing is back in the Philippines right now because Manny Pacquiao is fighting again,” said Magsayo, 27-2 (18 KOs), a native of Tagbilaran City in Bohol province who now lives in Las Vegas. “We’re very happy that there’s a lot of Filipino boxers fighting on his undercard. We’re so lucky that he’s coming back, and the impact is good.
“Every time we run together, train together, he motivates us and inspires us to train and work harder. He passes on that ‘Mamba mentality.’”
Marcial, who is returning to pro boxing after his second Olympic stint last year, will be fighting for the first time on a Pacquiao undercard when he faces Bernard Joseph in an eight-round middleweight fight. During one training session, Pacquiao told Marcial, 5-0 (3 KOs), that he would train him when he eventually fought for a world title. Marcial says the effect of working alongside Pacquiao has been “like magic.”
“All of his advice, he’s teaching me, training with him, every time that I punch – I feel all his words,” said Marcial, who split his training camp between Las Vegas and his hometown of Zamboanga City, Philippines. “It’s already there in your head every time you train because the words came from an eight-division champion.
“Every time I throw four punches, automatically I move to the side because that’s what he told me to do. After he said that, every time I do my mitts, I’m already moving to the side because that’s what he said to me.”
In addition to Magsayo and Marcial, several other Filipino boxers promoted by Pacquiao’s MP Promotions have returned to Wild Card, including former IBF junior bantamweight titleholder Jerwin Ancajas, plus bantamweight contender Vincent Astrolabio, junior featherweight contender Carl Jammes Martin and bantamweight Jonas Sultan.
Pacquiao’s morning runs around Los Angeles have also attracted Filipino boxers from years past, including Marvin Mabait, whose side hustle as a YouTuber has risen and fallen with the availability of Pacquiao content, plus Michael Dasmarinas.
Sean Gibbons, president of MP Promotions, says Pacquiao’s ring return has already been big business for Filipino boxing.
“Manny’s return to boxing has spurred interest of all Filipinos back into boxing and worldwide,” Gibbons said. “What it’s done for his fighters is something that words cannot express.”
Marvin Somodio, a native of the Philippines who trains Magsayo out of the Wild Card Gym, says he has noticed that Pacquiao has been seeking out the boxers individually to give them feedback, something that Pacquiao wouldn’t have had as much time to do during the time when he was the pound-for-pound best boxer in the world 15 years ago.
“Manny is an inspiration to most fighters from all over the world, especially to Filipinos,” Somodio said. “Him giving advice, sharing his experience to Mark, Eumir and other fighters at the gym helped them a lot.”
Ancajas, who is finalizing a fight date for August, echoed the sentiments of his compatriots.
“[Pacquiao] always gives motivation for me and maybe all Filipino boxers,” Ancajas said.
“He always says training hard is the key to success. Punish yourself in training and always pray.”
While promoters have been looking for the next Pacquiao, the fact that there will never be another boxing figure quite like Pacquiao again is what has made this training camp a memorable experience for the Filipino boxers who have gotten to witness what may well be Pacquiao’s final trip between the ropes.
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
