FAITH, Consistency, Hard Work Pays Off.
That’s the secret to the awesome and spectacular performance that One strawweight world champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio showed inside the One Circle last Friday in One: Revolution.
The 25-year-old Team Lakay warrior—out of the Circle for a year and eight months—needed less than a round to put away erstwhile nemesis Yosuke Saruta in their trilogy fight. And keep that One last world championship belt within the Philippine area of responsibility.
Pacio, downed by Covid early this year and living in virtual limbo before his return to the Circle, faced unprecedented challenges in his fighting career. Besides getting Covid, he also battled injury. He endured four to five weeks of isolation and being locked down. Even when he had beaten the virus, he had a hard time getting back.
He lost his sense of taste, felt the pain in his joints and muscles, had hardness of breathing and an unfamiliar feeling of weakness. Taking his first step when he was well enough and walking a few meters “felt like a whole training session,” he said. How in the world could he go through a five-round fight with “The Ninja,” Saruta, who knew his weaknesses and was just waiting to take advantage of the situation?
How indeed. Saruta seemed merciless in his pre-game pronouncements about Pacio. “I will break Pacio’s fighting spirit, break his will, and finish him between rounds four and five. That’s my prediction. Whether I knock him out or submit him, I am coming for the finish,” a fired-up Saruta had said.
But come fight night, it was Joshua Pacio who pulled a rabbit out of a hat. If it was at all possible for anti-rust fluid to be glugged down, it looked like the young Lakay had taken it as a sports drink. He was absolutely rust-free, focused, fast, strong and ready on the reflex. Twice he caught Saruta’s low kicks, a furtive move on the part of the Japanese to see how far he could go with “The Passion.”
Saruta had no idea how in the zone his opponent was. When Pacio caught Saruta’s foot the second time around, the Japanese felt the rug being pulled from under. He was surprised, but before he could even find his balance, in came Pacio’s overhand right, kapow! stunning him again.
He tried to run, but Pacio followed, pursuing him like prey and delivering the blows from all sides until Saruta crumpled against the wall. He simply had no answers. When the referee separated the two to acknowledge the TKO, Pacio let out a mighty cry that echoed from the Singapore Indoor Stadium all the way to the mountains of Cordillera.
It was a cathartic release of all that had gone before: the shock of getting Covid, the injury, the frustration of not being able to do anything about it, the waiting, the days and weeks alone, the pain, the misery, and then the slow, soul-testing process of putting it all back together again. That’s what The Passion released on the floor that night, never to bother him again.
That win gave Pacio, a 20-3 record plus the distinction of having the most wins in the One strawweight division (nine), the most strawweight world title fights (seven) and the most strawweight title fight victories (five).
“We’ve been working on all of our strengths and weaknesses. We’re working on our counters as well. We’re working on our offense, and you [saw] it,” he said after the fight.
That awesome outcome couldn’t have been possible without F, C and HW. Throughout his ordeal, and even in the thick of battle, Joshua Pacio never stopped believing.
Then too, he never stopped training. Even when he was locked down and could make it on his feet, he trained alone. When he was better, he helped train his teammates in the Lakay Gym. When he was in the groove, he started training twice a day. And never lost focus.
He said that if he could improve himself even One percent a day, he would be very happy. That consistency, that relentless pursuit of his goal is a strength that Joshua Pacio can bequeath to the new Lakay generation like Stephen Loman, Jeremy Pacatiw and Jhanlo Sangiao who are waiting in the wings, eager to show the kind of gold that really shines up there in the mountains.
Lakay founder and coach Mark Sangiao said he was himself impressed and very pleased with Pacio’s attitude to get better and better in his sport. He puts in the work, he always wants to get better, he is always eager to learn, Coach Mark said.
After ONE: Revolution, Joshua Pacio now sits on top of the hill of his Strawweight Kingdom and surveys all in his domain. Whom he will fight next is not yet known, but any of these gentlemen may come calling: South African Bokang Masunyane, Japanese wrestler Hiroba Minowa who defeated fellow Lakay Lito Adiwang last year, and the Monkey God, Jared Brooks who is out on a mission to challenge and dethrone all those who rule.
That’s a long way off yet though, and for now, The Passion can bask in his glory as the Filipino nation thanks him for his gift. He has lots of time to get better and better and stay invincible. FCHWPO is the truth.