Manny Pacquiao is one week away from making his return to the sport of boxing.
Pacquiao will put an end to four years worth of inactivity against ‘El Azteca’ next week, with his last career outing as a professional coming back in June 2021 when he fell short in his bout against former WBA world welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas.
Legendary promoter Bob Arum has spoken out ahead of the shock return of ‘PacMan’ and shared his thoughts on the chances of the 46-year-old defying the odds and becoming a world champion at 147lbs once again.
In an interview with the Ring Magazine, Arum paid homage to the Filipino great, whom he worked with for many years, but expressed his concerns about the considerable risk that he could be taking against Barrios.
“I can’t say anything negative because Manny meant so much to us and our company, but it seems really questionable that, at his age, he would put himself at risk by going into the ring with a champion fighter.”
Arum went on to say that he is ‘rooting’ for Pacquiao to get the job done.
“He’s an amazing person, Manny Pacquiao, and if anybody can do it, he can do it. But I’m really concerned about it, given his age and his inactivity. But again, I will certainly be rooting for him because he’s really a great guy who has meant so much to us as a company.”
‘PacMan’ will write his name into the boxing history books once again should he be victorious next week, as he attempts to become the oldest world welterweight champion ever, a record that he actually broke himself when he defeated Keith Thurman back in 2019.
