Background
He watched his father Reynaldo, who was also a boxer.
He watched his father Reynaldo, who was also a boxer.
He started boxing at the age of 8 in Leyte, Philippines, as he played with neighborhood friends. The wins of Filipino fighters Manny Pacquiao, Rey Bautista and AJ Banal also inspired him. Pagara made his professional debut on September 29, 2006, at the age of 14, defeating Tata Tadena at Jagna, Bohol, Philippines.
On July 25, 2009, Pagara defeated Simson Butar-Butar by unanimous decision in a 10-round bout at the Dao Public Terminal in Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines.
The judges" scorecards were 100-89, 99-89 and 96-92 all for Pagara. On June 12, 2011, he beat Juan Carlos Gallego via TKO on round 4.
On September 10, 2011, he was defeated by Rosbel Montoya via 10 round unanimous decision. He later beat Montoya in the sixth round of the Pinoy Pride XV held at the Waterfront-Cebu City Hotel and Casino.
On October 20, 2012, he knocked out Barbados Miguel Antoine via TKO on the 1st round.
The 23-year-old boxer suffered wounded left eye from an accidental head bout in the opening salvo but managed to continue the fight until the 8th round. Doctor advised to stop the fight considering too much blood flowing from Pagara"s wound. October 17, 2015 First time in United States WBO Number.
Pagara now improves to 37-2-0 with 23 knockouts while Benavides dropped to 25-8-2 with 19 stoppages.
Pagara defended his WBO International light welterweight title against Aaron Herrera on May 25, 2013 at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel, posting a winning score from all three judges after 12 rounds. He successfully defended his WBO International light welterweight belt against Mario Meraz, knocking down the latter in the fourth round at the Cebu City Waterfront Hotel & Casino in Cebu City on June 21, 2014.