What is this I hear that Manny Pacquiao is going to fight again?
OMG! Are you kidding me?
Is he out of his mind?
Tell me, it isn’t true. For, if it is true, it scares the hell out of me.
With a record eight world title belts in eight weight classes across his name, he has nothing to prove, anymore.
He is even a Hall of Famer now.
Is he pulling our leg? Climbing up the ring and make some miracle, if not transform himself from legend to lame duck?
Reactions to the news were from concern to excitement.
Concern because Pacquaio, at 46, is considered not only old but a bit too old for the sport fit mainly for the young — preferrably those aged 35 and below.
Since Pacquiao retired in 2021, he hasn’t even sparred a
single round.
He ran — and lost — in his presidential bid for the republic in 2022 after serving as senator for six years from 2016. He has just lost in his senatorial comeback bid last May 12.
Is he fighting again because he lost a huge chunk of his billions-fat bank account in this year’s costly midterm polls?
Pundits would readily say yes, given that billions were spent by several candidates — including Pacquiao? — in wooing votes from the nearly 60 million voting Filipinos.
Despite his absence from the ring for nearly five years, Pacquiao is still currently ranked No. 5 by the World Boxing Council (WBC), whose welterweight belt (147 lbs) he had held last in 2019 at age 40 — the oldest ever.
In fairness, Pacquiao’s July 19 fight against reigning WBC welterweight ruler Mario Barrios has triggered a mini excitement, with ticket sales now going briskly at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Boxing fans are just simply suckers for thrill and the surreal.
Barrios is the hands-down favorite not only because of his sublime 29-2-1, win-loss-draw record with 18 knockouts, but also because he is only 30 years old — the age when a boxer is at his strongest best.
Pacquiao’s 62-8-2 mark is pockmarked by classic wins over some of the best in the beak-busting business, but bottom line is, will the sting still be there?
At 46, Pacquiao should be watching the sunset, not gate-crashing a party exclusively for blood and gore enthusiasts.
Pacquiao’s safety is being compromised here.
What if something went awry?
I shudder at the thought.