Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Thirty years after clambering through the ropes for his first professional fight as a skinny 16-year-old, Manny Pacquiao returns to the ring once more on Saturday for the latest round of his protracted battle with Father Time. The 46-year-old Filipino icon takes on World Boxing Council welterweight champion Mario Barrios at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, chasing another milestone to crown his glittering 30-year professional career.
Pacquiao stunned the boxing world in May when he announced that he planned to end his four-year exile from the sport to challenge Barrios, taking advantage of a WBC rule that allows former champions to request an immediate title fight when coming out of retirement. Pacquiao, who is reportedly set to receive between $5-10 million for Saturday’s fight, says his comeback is motivated by his passion for the sport and the adrenaline rush of headlining a Sin City fight night.
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“I’m returning because I miss my boxing,” Pacquiao said during a recent publicity tour. “Especially these situations — being interviewed, press conference, training camp, everything like that. I missed that. But it has been good for me — I’ve rested my body for four years. And now I come back.”
Sceptics though have voiced concern that Pacquiao, whose last professional win came in 2019, may have bitten off more than he can chew by exercising his right for a title shot against a defending champion Barrios who is 16 years his junior and in the prime of his career. Even Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s long-time trainer who will be in the Filipino’s corner once again on Saturday, admitted to initially harbouring reservations about the match-up.
“I really don’t want to see him make a comeback, because I think he’s already been great. He’s already done everything he can do,” Roach said in May before Pacquiao’s return was made official.
Oddsmakers have echoed the scepticism, with Barrios installed as 4/11 favourite to dish out a ninth defeat in what will be Pacquiao’s 73rd career fight. “I’m okay being the underdog,” an unfazed Pacquiao said in Las Vegas this week. “I’ve been the underdog many times. I’m always bringing surprises.”
Pacquiao’s supporters meanwhile point to the Filipino’s chiseled physique and glimpses of impressive hand speed as reasons to believe that the veteran can produce another memorable Vegas win. Yet boxing history is littered with veteran fighters who looked sharp in training camp only to be dismantled by much younger opponents when fight night rolled around. Many in the sport have wondered if Pacquiao might be heading for the same kind of pummelling that he dished out to an ageing Oscar De La Hoya in 2008. De La Hoya, who had been favoured to win that contest, was soundly beaten over eight one-sided rounds in what would be the final fight of the American’s career. “I wanted to die in that ring,” De La Hoya revealed years later.
Pacquiao insists the fears surrounding his comeback are overblown, noting that his family were squarely behind his decision to lace up the gloves again. “I’m thankful for their concern,” Pacquiao told AFP. “But the people who really concern me are my family. My family saw how I move, saw how I train, saw my physical condition. They support me because they can see the old Pacquiao style.”
A win for Pacquiao on Saturday would see him make history as the first active fighter to win a major world title after being inducted to boxing’s Hall of Fame. Standing in his way though is Barrios, who says Pacquiao’s status as one of the most beloved fighters of his era will not distract him from the task at hand.
“He’s a hard guy to dislike. But at the end of the day, you know it’s kill or be killed,” Barrios said. “Hats off to Pacquiao for daring to be great. But it’s my time now and I’m gonna show that come Saturday. I’m going in there with bad intentions and power in both hands. I won’t hesitate to pull the trigger.”
© 2024 AFP
