In August 2021, Manny Pacquiao lost to Yordenis Ugas in the WBA title fight. Not long after, the 43-year-old legend announced his retirement, ending a legendary career that spanned nearly three decades.

“Pac Man” has retired from professional boxing and Filipino fans must find a new name to become the leading flag for the country’s boxing. However, this is not easy because their boxers have not had good results in the professional arena recently.

Nonito Donaire was knocked out by Naoya Inoue last month and could hang up his gloves in the near future. Donnie Niet, 40, will fight Kazuto Ioka for the world title on July 13 but is also past his prime. Jerwin Ancajas lost his title in February after losing on points to Fernando Martinez.

Magsayo takes a photo with Pacquiao

Jayson Mama also lost his title fight with Sunny Edwards late last year. John Casimero was stripped of his title due to a long layoff. A new name is Rene Cuarto – who holds the IBF strawweight title. However, in terms of popularity and influence, Cuarto is far behind Mark Magsayo. According to ESPN, Magsayo is the most promising candidate to become Manny Pacquiao’s “successor”.

Magsayo (24-0, 16 KOs) is the 27-year-old WBC featherweight champion, a title he won after defeating Gary Russell in January. The promoter behind Magsayo is none other than Pacquiao. With the help of “PacMan,” Magsayo has just finalized a deal with challenger Rey Vargas (35-0). The two will fight this weekend.

This remarkable fight took place at the Alamodome in San Antonio, the same venue that made Pacquiao famous. It was also here in 2003 that the former eight-division champion had a memorable victory over Antonio Barrera.

Magsayo was only 8 years old that year, watching the fight at home on TV. Pacquiao’s impressive performance made Magsayo decide to pursue a boxing career.

“It’s an honor to be able to follow the same path as Manny Pacquiao,” Magsayo told ESPN. “Becoming a world champion gives me more motivation. Now my goal is to become an absolute champion. I know I need to train even harder.”

Not long after ending Russell’s seven-year reign, Magsayo, his wife and Sean Gibbons (Chairman of Pacquiao Promotions) returned to the Philippines to meet Pacquiao.

When he arrived home, Magsayo had no idea he was a star. “Everywhere we went, people stopped to look,” Magsayo’s wife said. “Children would run up to him and ask for his picture. He was so happy about it.”

Of course, fame also comes with pressure for Magsayo. He understands that he needs to continue his winning streak and progress in his boxing career. Fortunately, Magsayo – a young man who rose from poverty – has a role model to learn from. That is of course Manny Pacquiao. At the moment, Magsayo is also working with Freddie Roach, the coach who spent two decades with “PacMan”. The two have many similarities in their training regimens.

Magsayo is now fully focused on his fight with Vargas. In terms of physique, Vargas is 10cm taller and 8cm taller. The 31-year-old boxer also held the world title in the super bantamweight division and successfully defended the title 5 times. However, in the past 3 years, Vargas has only fought once. That was a points victory over Leonardo Baez last November.

To prepare for the important match, Magsayo and his associates invited to their training camp boxers Juan Carlos Burgos, Eduardo Baez, Bryan Chevalier, and Dominique Crowder. In addition, Magsayo still has the company of Roach, assistant coach Marvin Somodio, fitness coach Pedro Garcia and nutritionist Jeaneth Aro. Magsayo’s wife Frances also acts as the boxer’s manager.

“He trains very hard. Magsayo is improving every day, getting stronger and hitting harder. He also absorbs my advice very quickly. Vargas doesn’t have many weaknesses but if you focus on his body and eliminate his mobility, he will have problems,” said Roach.

Magsayo has had his own problems. Last year, he was knocked down and trailed on points before winning by knockout in the 10th round against Ceja. In his fight with Russell earlier this year, Magsayo benefited somewhat because his opponent suffered an injury in the fourth round.

The path is clear for Magsayo. Later this year, the Filipino will face four-division world champion Leo Santa Cruz. But first, Magsayo must defeat Vargas.

“Having a world title doesn’t necessarily give a boxer a stable financial source and the ability to focus entirely on boxing,” Gibbons said. “Magsayo is making a decent living right now, but if he wins against Santa Cruz, his life will change completely.”

Magsayo still doesn’t have enough money to buy an apartment in the US and knows that he still has a long way to go. However, Magsayo’s future is bright if he can maintain his winning streak.

“I think he will become the name that represents Philippine boxing,” Roach assessed.

Gibbons agrees. “Magsayo is a lot like Manny Pacquiao – hardworking, humble and popular.”