Pacio stays ready for title defense after initial postponement

MANILA, Philippines — Reigning ONE strawweight champion Joshua Pacio is not letting up in his preparation for his next title defense even as his first scheduled fight against Jarred Brooks was shelved for a later date.

The only remaining world champion for the Philippines in the Singapore promotion, Pacio said he is continuously working to improve his game as the months go by.

"Tuloy tuloy lang yung training. More on drills, hasa ng techniques. And of course, learning new things parin," Pacio told Philstar.com.

"Alam naman natin hindi basta-basta yung kalaban. So, more on, tinatrabaho natin yung wrestling natin... Lahat ng tools natin, lahat ng weapons natin coming up to this fight," he continued.

Brooks had rampaged his way through the strawweight division to get the title shot after only three bouts in ONE Championship. One of Brooks' victims was Pacio's teammate in Team Lakay, Lito Adiwang.

Brooks submitted Adiwang in the second round of their ONE: Next Gen III bout last October.

Knowing how difficult it can get, Pacio hopes for the odds to be in his favor — including a home court advantage.

Since ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong had already expressed his desire to return to live events in the Philippines amid the pandemic, Pacio hopes that his defense against Brooks will come in front of a packed Mall of Asia Arena crowd.

"Yun yung isang hinihintay naming mga Team Lakay athletes, no? Yung mag-open sana dito sa Pilipinas," said Pacio.

"Sana nga dun tayo magdedepensa kasi iba talaga yung pag nasa harapan ka ng mga Filipino crowd, iba yung energy and yun nga, dagdag motivation, dagdag lakas sa aming mga athletes kapag dito kami sa Pilipinas lumalaban," he added.

Since regaining the strawweight belt against Yosuke Saruta in April 2019, Pacio has made three successful title defenses: versus Rene Catalan, Alex Silva and Saruta again in September last year.