Manny Pacquiao has spoken for the first time since his world title fight with Mario Barrios was revealed.
It sees ‘Pac-Man’ back in action for the first time in nearly four years, with his last fight coming back in August 2021 when he lost his WBA welterweight title against Yordenis Ugas.
Despite Pacquiao’s extraordinary past achievements, including becoming an eight-weight world champion and defeating the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley and Tim Bradley, his return has drawn some criticism.
Some fans are concerned that he is too old to be competing in a world title fight, with Barrios 16 years his junior at 30-years-old, and having lost just two of his 32 professional contests.
Barrios has beaten Ugas in his career and also shared the ring with Gervonta Davis and Keith Thurman, but Pacquiao had a simple four word response when asked by Fighthype about concerns over the age gap.
“Don’t worry about it.”
A victory for Pacquiao would see him become the second oldest world champion of all time, surpassing George Foreman and sitting behind Bernard Hopkins, who held world honours at the age of 49.
A lot of major boxing figures believe the Filipino’s chances of victory are slim though, with Top Rank CEO and former Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum one of the key names who believes his comeback isn’t wise.
