It's like a relationship, there are ups and downs. I haven't taken a break during this pandemic. "The kids who come here to train, they push me," Dato said. His team has remained the same with Tony Ojeda and Raul Anguiano training him in the ring and Ty Lee training him outside of it. Dato also finds time to train there in between his sessions as a coach. He has a large group of kids who train at the gym daily. He's moved his gym from a garage near Santa Maria High School to the Town Center Mall.
I'm his only Filipino fighter and trying to be the next Filipino superstar."ĭato has developed his game outside the ring in the last two years also. "Leo is basically my manager," Dato said. He was elected as Senator of the Philippines in 2016.ĭato said Leo Santa Cruz, a multiple-division world champ, helped facilitate both Pacquiao undercard fights. He's 62-7 in his career and is the sport's only eight-division world champion. Pacquiao is the Philippines' biggest star. It's just a blessing to be fighting on the undercard of my idol." I've been training, going to Manny's house in the morning and running with him. We'll be fighting on a bigger stage at the T-Mobile Arena. "I didn't think I would fight again on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao. Dato fought at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez in October of 2019 and fought in Mexico multiple times after that.ĭato has spent the last few weeks training in Santa Maria and making two trips to Southern California to visit with Pacquiao and do some conditioning with the Filipino fighter who doubles as a politician in the Philippines. He has fought a handful of times since Pacquiao last entered the ring in 2019. The Santa Maria fighter is unbeaten in his career, sporting a record of 16-0-1.
That seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Dato, a native of the Philippines who came to Santa Maria from the city of Bangar in the province of La Union.īut the opportunity has come once again for Dato. Dato knocked out Juan Antonio Lopez on that night, fighting on the undercard. Pacquiao, who is a senator in the Philippines and reportedly mulling a run for president, scored a split decision victory over Keith Thurman then.
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