MANILA, Philippines — Michael "Magic Mike" Plania has taken the boxing world by surprise after a career-changing upset of bantamweight top contender Joshua Greer Jr. on Tuesday (Wednesday, Manila time) in a closed-door fight in Las Vegas.
Despite accepting the fight with only four weeks notice and being the obvious underdog, Plania (24-1-0) was able to topple Greer (22-2-1) via majority decision and snapped the latter's 19-bout winning streak.
It's only undestandable that the General Santos City native drew inspiration from one of the country's iconic boxers, Senator Manny Pacquiao.
"For me, even before I started boxing my idol was Manny Pacquiao," Plania told BoxingScene.com before his fight.
"That's why I was encouraged to box. I want to become a world champion, too, like senator Manny Pacquiao," he added.
After his major upset of Greer, Plania will likely have the most attention he has had during his career so far.
Combining his efforts and inspiration from the fighting senator, the boxing future looks bright for "Magic Mike".