He spends his weekdays in Chicago teaching Shakespeare and grammar, but this weekend Hyde Park Academy English teacher Brendan Lally is stepping into the ring for his professional boxing debut.

His opponent is Jimuel Pacquiao, the son of legendary boxer Manny Pacquiao, who also will be making his professional boxing debut.

Lally, a former University of Illinois collegiate boxing champion, said even though he hasn't competitively boxed in a while, he couldn't pass up the opportunity when a former coach called him.

"I knew if I passed up this opportunity to do something so incredible, the coolest thing in the world, to me, on the coolest stage possible, I knew I would regret it," Lally said.

When he's not in the classroom, Lally helps coach fighters at Dark Horse Gym in Chicago. He'll be fighting Pacquiao on Saturday at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California.