LAS VEGAS – If there’s one thing Manny Pacquiao has proven he can deliver in a boxing ring, it’s the element of surprise.
From his upset victory as a replacement fighter in his US debut to his one-sided triumphs over Marco Antonio Barrera and Oscar De La Hoya, through his rise as an eight-division champion and his world-title victory at age 40, Pacquiao knows how to prove others wrong.
So as he prepares, at age 46, to return from retirement and follow next week’s International Boxing Hall of Fame induction by fighting WBC welterweight titlist Mario Barrios Jnr on July 19 in Las Vegas, Pacquiao embraces his underdog assignment.
“I’m excited to become an example. I always want to bring surprises to my fans. I always work out every day. I punish myself in training and push myself … I want to please my fans,” Pacquiao, 62-8-2 (39 KOs), told reporters at a news conference preceding Saturday night’s Premier Boxing Champions card featuring WBA interim super middleweight titleholder Caleb Plant and former two-division titleholder Jermall Charlo in separate bouts at Mandalay Bay.
Pacquiao is seeking to join soon-to-be fellow Hall of Famers George Foreman and Bernard Hopkins as the lone fighters to have won a major belt after their 45th birthdays.
Pacquiao was asked by BoxingScene about which skill he believes he possesses that gives him a convincing edge over Texas’ 30-year-old Barrios, 29-2-1 (18 KOs).
The expected answers were experience, wisdom, comfort under the big lights.
In a stunning response, he replied, “I’m faster than him. My movement, my speed’s still there. Nothing’s gone. I can develop that in training. I still have that.”
Pacquiao laughed heartily upon learning Barrios wasn’t born when Pacquiao began his pro boxing career.
He and advisor Sean Gibbons first targeted Conor Benn for a comeback fight in Saudi Arabia, but Benn was slow to have his PED suspension ended, so Gibbons turned to Barrios once he won the belt vacated by Terence Crawford.
Promoter Tom Brown, a former matchmaker, agreed with the push for Pacquiao’s comeback, along with PBC founder Al Haymon.
Barrios’ forward fighting style, which incorporates little left-right movement, leaves him susceptible to the creative angles Pacquiao skillfully employs to batter his foes.
Pacquiao told reporters he wanted to fight again after trying to expend physical energy during retirement playing basketball and badminton.
A floating shuttlecock couldn’t please him like punching someone in the face.
“I’m coming back because I miss boxing. I want to be the champion of the world,” Pacquiao told a reporter when asked if money most influenced his decision.
He said he doesn’t feel his age while maintaining his typical training regimen at Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood under trainer Freddie Roach.
Returning to the spotlight is fulfilling, he said, mostly because it means he’s involved in a “big fight” on a card that includes the WBC 154lbs world title rematch between champion Sebastian Fundora and former champion Tim Tszyu, along with Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz-Angel Fierro II and Brandon Figueroa versus Joet Gonzalez on Prime Video.
As for other fights that could emerge in victory, Pacquiao said he must devote all his focus to Barrios.
“Thank you, I miss you all,” Pacquiao said. “It’s nice to be back in boxing, and I hope with this fight you all will be happy.”
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.