Manny Pacquiao makes his return to the ring this week at 46-years-old.
The eight-division world champion has been out of action since a bruising loss to Yordenis Ugas back in 2021. Despite announcing his retirement shortly after to focus on his political career, a shot at breaking one of his own boxing records was apparently too good to miss.
Pacquiao will challenge WBC Welterweight World Champion Mario Barrios for the belt this coming Saturday at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas.
Speaking to the BBC ahead of his return, the Filipino fan-favourite admitted that he is worried about putting his formidable reputation on the line.
“I’m so excited for this fight because I want to prove to the fans that Manny Pacquiao is still there. And it’s nice to be back.
“I’m worried for my reputation. But I’m making sure that I’m not a kind of fighter like other fighters that come back but they are not showing what they did before.
“I’m sure my coaching staff like Freddie [Roach], Buboy [Fernandez] and Justin [Fortune] will tell me frankly if I don’t have that fire any more. But right now they’re very happy with my passion. They’re very happy with my training. They’re very happy with my speed and power. The fire in my eyes, in my heart, is still there.”
The man looking to spoil the party is Barrios, who fully intends on keeping hold of his belt. The 30-year-old beat Fabian Maidana for the interim title back in May of 2024 before being upgraded to full champion when Terence Crawford moved up in weight and left the belt behind. Since then, Barrios has drawn against Abel Ramos.
