Pacquiao’s performance a motivation for ‘counted out athletes’, says Eustaquio

t is no secret that boxing’s lone eight-division champion, Manny Pacquiao, inspired many of his countrymen and people around the world.

His rags to riches story inspired people from all walks of life, while his failures and triumph inside the ring hit the spot for many of his fellow Filipino athletes.

One of the countless people that the Filipino boxing icon was able to inspire is former ONE Flyweight World Champion Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio.

After seeing Pacquiao beat Keith Thurman last weekend to become the WBA World Welterweight Champion at 40 years old, “Gravity” saw a newfound hope in becoming a World Champion again.

“Senator Manny has once again proved that impossible is not a word [for athletes],” Eustaquio said.

“I always stand on that principle, it’s the same for me. In the first place, only a few believed that I will be a World Champion, but I made it. I became a World Champion.”

Eustaquio previously won the ONE Interim Flyweight World Title when he defeated former ONE Flyweight World Champion Kairat “The Kazakh” Akhmetov by unanimous decision at ONE: Global Heroes in January of 2018.

He successfully defended the gold strap by split decision in his next bout against longtime rival Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes to become the undisputed ONE Flyweight World Champion in the main event of ONE: Pinnacle of Power in June 2018.

However, in his second defense, the Team Lakay stalwart dropped the World Title by way of unanimous decision in a trilogy with Moraes in front of his hometown crowd at ONE: Hero’s Ascent last January.

It was a devastating defeat for Eustaquio to say the least, especially because he felt like he deserved the nod and the World Title was lost in front of a Filipino crowd.

But just like Pacquiao, Eustaquio learned to remain positive in the face of defeat, as he continues to grind non-stop in hopes of reaching the pinnacle of the sport once again.

“When I lost my World Title I remained positive like Senator Manny. A lot of people are saying that he should’ve hung up his gloves, but he proved them wrong,” Eustaquio shared.

“When you follow your passion, when you follow the thing that you love, ‘impossible’ is not a word. It only motivates me to follow in the footsteps of Senator Manny.”

His quest for another World Title resumes when he takes on the hard-hitting Yuya “Little Piranha” Wakamatsu in a ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix alternate bout at ONE: Dawn of Heroes on August 2 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.

As Team Lakay is starting to wrap up its training in the mountains of Baguio, Eustaquio took another glimpse at Pacquiao’s latest victory to get him pumped for his next appearance inside the Circle.

“I believe we did our best in training camp,” he said.

“I’m definitely inspired and motivated for my next bout. I’ll just do my best and God will do the rest.”