The sand in the hourglass of Manny Pacquiao’s on-again, off-again flirtation with fighting could be winding down.
The Filipino icon turns 46 years old on December 17, has not fought professionally since 2021, looked like a shell of himself in a July exhibition, and is pursuing a political role in his native Phillippines early next year.
Although the eight-division champion Pacquiao, 62-8-2 (39 KOs), is a sure-fire lock to be a first-ballot International Boxing Hall of Famer when the inductees are announced later this month, “Pacman” still believes he has one more run left in him.
“He’s running for Senate in the Phillippines from February 11 to May 11. If he gets something by January 31, 2025 he’s ready to rumble,” Pacquiao’s promoter and right-hand man Sean Gibbons told BoxingScene. “I don’t know what’s going to happen after that … With Manny, he could be fighting until he’s 50.”
Pacquiao had been linked to a potential bout against WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios throughout the year but after looking vulnerable in his exhibition against Rukiya Anpo, Barrios instead turned the page to a title defense against Abel Ramos in November.
“Manny didn’t look as good against Anpo because of a lot of things behind the scenes that went into it,” Gibbons explained. “He didn’t overly prepare for it. He thought he was fighting someone else and it ended up being a bigger guy. He felt great. What else can you do? It was an exhibition. He was there just to move around. The other guy thought it was a real fight. He came to make a name off of Manny and Manny still easily cruised through the thing for a guy that got off the couch.
“I told Manny that the Barrios fight was the perfect fight to make. Things got in the way with certain people in his ear, but that fight is still possible. It could happen in June, July, or August – one last one.”
Time is running out for Pacquiao if he’s solely planning to face Barrios to become a world champion once again. On Friday, Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn said he made an offer for Barrios to next face Conor Benn.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine and more. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.
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