Despite not having a promoter he’s stayed busy, in part because of his ability to sell tickets. He traveled to Mexico for his debut, and has fought there three more times since. He only had 12 amateur fights, which he says he won, before going professional in 2016. A friend told him about the Minami Boxing Club nearby, and one day he decided to give it a look. School wasn’t his thing, so he considered the military. His pole vault personal record of 7’0 is still listed among the best results in Pioneer Valley High School history, but Dato says wrestling was his primary sport.Īs graduation neared, Dato still wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life. In high school he competed in wrestling and track and field for four years, and football for three as a wide receiver. He moved to the United States at age 7, following his father, who had worked in Alaska for some time, and took to the world of scholastic sports. “His footwork, how he throws a lot of punches when he’s shadowboxing, I’ve been studying all of those,” said Dato.įor a prospect who was first turned on to the sport by watching Pacquiao’s clashes with Juan Manuel Marquez, it was an experience he couldn’t pass up.ĭato was raised in the Rissing section of Bangar, La Union, a rural beach area north of Manila. Pacquiao didn’t speak much (“I told him that I’m fighting a lefty and he just nodded his head”) but the 25-year-old was able to absorb more with his eyes. The victory was the culmination of a month-long process where Dato was able to run with the new WBA welterweight titleholder, and visited his home for lunch. John Leo Dato ends Juan Antonio Lopez's night with a fifth-round KD to kickoff #PacThurman!?Įight-division World Champion Manny Pacquiao faces World Champion Keith Thurman for WBA supremacy! BUY NOW: /H3MzO81MPI “Even Leo Santa Cruz said congrats, ‘you’re the first guy to stop him, it’s a big statement,’” recalled Dato, who sparred with Joseph Diaz to get ready for the fight. That changed in round five, when Dato bullied the more slender fighter to the ropes and planted a right hand to the ribs that left him unable to rise from his knee before the ten count. His opponent last Saturday in the curtain jerker was Juan Antonio Lopez (14-7, 6 KOs), a durable Mexican southpaw who had faced plenty of prospects but had never been stopped before. “It was time to show these people who I am and that’s what I did. “It’s an amazing feeling when I walked outside the ring and I saw all these people,” said Dato (12-0-1, 8 knockouts), a Filipino born, America raised featherweight. Though the vast majority of the 14,000+ in the house would show up much later, Dato had a little cheering squad of his own from the 200 or so tickets he sold from his home base in Santa Maria, Calif. His expertise and attention to detail has also produced positive results across the AFC’s ever-improving competitions with the AFC Asian Cup 2015 Australia, the AFC Under-23 Championship Qatar 2016 as well as the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup, all achieving new records and milestones on multiple fronts, including spectatorship, fan engagement and T.V viewership.Hours before Manny Pacquiao would step into the ring at the MGM Grand, John Dato got to wear his cape. Throughout his career, Dato’ Windsor has also been entrusted by FIFA in various senior capacities including five FIFA World Cups including the first in Asia – 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan – as well as the 20 FIFA Confederations Cup and the Copa America Centenario USA 2016. He has also led Asian football’s stand against match-manipulation, as the AFC continues to be one of the most committed sport bodies in the world on the issue of integrity. He took over as the AFC General Secretary in 2015 and has been instrumental in the implementation of the AFC’s new Vision and Mission, under the guidance of the AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa. Dato’ Windsor John joined the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) as an Executive Director in 2012 before being appointed as the Deputy General Secretary shortly in 2013.
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