logo
At 46, Manny Pacquiao is determined to prove his doubters wrong: 'I can still fight'

At 46, Manny Pacquiao is determined to prove his doubters wrong: 'I can still fight'

Yahoo4 days ago
In his return to boxing after four years without a fight, Manny Pacquiao says he has more 'passion and determination' than ever.
The 46-year-old Filipino star says his disciplined training regimen will help him shine in the ring Saturday and defeat World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion Mario Barrios — a fighter 16 years Pacquiao's junior — in the main event at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas (5 p.m. PDT, Prime Video).
The 30-year-old champion Barrios is known for his effective counter-punching and is in the prime of his career. But the most important opponent for "Pacman" will be weathering Father Time. The last time Pacquiao was in a competitive fight was when he lost in late 2021 by unanimous decision to Cuba's Yordenis Ugas, throwing a lot of punches, but connecting on few.
'It's my passion, and the fire in my heart, in my mind is still there,' Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs) said in an interview with The Times at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood. 'I can still work hard in training and I can still fight.'
If he wins, Pacquiao would make history in many categories: he would become the second oldest champion in boxing history, after Bernard Hopkins became the oldest world champion at 46 years and 126 days by beating Jean Pascal in 2011. He would also be the oldest oldest champion in a division below light heavyweight and the only active champion to be part of the Boxing Hall of Fame.
Pacquiao noted that one of his goals in his return to boxing is to become the oldest fighter in boxing alongside trainer Freddie Roach, extending an illustrious career in which he has won titles in eight different divisions. The Filipino is the only boxer to conquer and retain titles during each of the past four decades.
'He's having very good combinations, his power is still there,' said Roach, who first met Pacquiao in 2001.
'My goal is to be the oldest champion and retire as champion,' said Pacquiao, who expects to participate in two or three more fights, including some exhibition bouts. Prior to this fight against Barrios, Pacquiao held two exhibition fights against South Korean DK Yoo in 2022 and kickboxer Rukiya Anpo in 2024.
Read more: Manny Pacquiao faces welterweight champ Mario Barrios, but his real challenge will be time
Pacquiao said that despite going four years without fighting competitively, he maintained a strict training regimen for this contest.
'Sometimes my trainers ask me to stop,' Pacquiao acknowledged. "They don't want me to overtrain. They want me to give my body time to rest, give me time to recover."
Pacquiao received a lot of criticism for being a direct contender for a world title after such a long break and being given a shot at the world championship without any recent bouts.
"All I can say is, like, I'm different than fighters to prepare for a fight. When I prepare for a fight like this, I'm seriously 100% disciplined and I work hard," Pacquiao noted.
Barrios, known as "El Azteca," is not only 16 years younger than Pacquiao, he also has a seven-inch height advantage. The Mexican-American won his title by defeating Ugas by unanimous decision in 2023 after knocking him down twice. He defended his crown twice in 2024 by beating Fabian Maidana and recently had a draw with Abel Ramos on the same bill as the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson showdown in November.
"I've been working with the mindset that I'm facing a legend. At the end of the day, it's another man trying to take my title. I respect what he's done in the sport and the person he is, but come fight night, that respect won't be there," Barrios said at his camp in Las Vegas. "When they proposed the fight to me, I didn't know whether to take it as disrespect or respect because he wanted me. But it doesn't matter, I'm the champion for a reason and I'm going to show why I have the WBC belt."
Also on the bill, Pacquiao's eldest son, Emmanuel, 24, will be making his professional debut, despite having limited amateur experience. According to Pacquiao, Emmanuel's arrival in professional boxing by sharing an evening with him is a 'blessing from God.'
'My advice to him is to work hard, look at my training, the way I prepare, the way I punish myself, the way I focus on training,' Pacquiao said.
The Las Vegas card will also feature WBC super welterweight world champion Sebastian "The Towering Inferno" Fundora taking on Australian Tim Tszyu in a rematch of the 2024 bout won by Fundora. Former world champion Isaac Cruz will now square off against Omar Salcido Gamez in a 12-round super lightweight bout after Angel Fierro withdrew from the event on Friday due to health concerns. Also, former two-division world champion Brandon Figueroa will battle Joet Gonzalez in a 10-round featherweight showdown.
This article was first published in Spanish via L.A. Times en Español.
Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Jonquel Jones returns to the Liberty lineup, leads team scoring in win over Fever
Jonquel Jones returns to the Liberty lineup, leads team scoring in win over Fever

Yahoo

time21 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Jonquel Jones returns to the Liberty lineup, leads team scoring in win over Fever

NEW YORK (AP) — During the Liberty's lineup announcement Tuesday night, one name brought the Barclays Center crowd to its feet: Jonquel Jones. She held up a heart to the crowd. In the words of head coach Sandy Brondello — 'It's a happy day. JJ's back.' The Liberty star center officially returned to the court in New York's 98-84 win over the Fever on Tuesday night. Jones, last season's WNBA Finals MVP, was playing for the first time since June 19 with an ankle injury and scored a team-high 18 points. 'It felt great to be back out there,' Jones said after the game. 'Obviously, it's been a while since I've been on the court, but my teammates have held it down while I was out, and everybody was excited for me to be back in. And I was just as excited.' Jones, the Liberty's third-highest scorer, has averaged 12.1 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists this season, while shooting 43.8 percent from behind the arc. New York struggled in her absence, going 5-4 after starting out the season 9-0. They are undefeated with Jones on the court. It's been a touch-and-go season for Jones so far. She'd been limited to just 10 games this season, initially injuring her ankle in early June and taking a brief absence before returning and aggravating the injury. ___ AP WNBA:

Lakers have officially signed guard Marcus Smart
Lakers have officially signed guard Marcus Smart

Yahoo

time21 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Lakers have officially signed guard Marcus Smart

The Los Angeles Lakers made another significant addition to their roster over the weekend when veteran guard Marcus Smart agreed to sign with them following a contract buyout. He had been traded to the Washington Wizards in February, and he was set to make $21.6 million this coming season. He has cleared waivers, allowing the Lakers to officially sign him on Tuesday to a two-year, $11 million contract. He will wear jersey No. 36 for the team. The franchise issued a press release regarding Smart's official addition to its roster. 'Adding a player like Marcus Smart to our roster allows us to compete at the highest level,' Lakers President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka said. 'Marcus epitomizes what it means to prioritize winning above all else – whether that's making huge plays on the defensive end or hitting critical shots in key moments of the most intense games. He knows and understands playoff winning and will be a key leadership voice in our group. Surrounding our stars with two-way players like Marcus is critical to our overall vision of how we want to play and win next season. This is an exciting player acquisition, for sure.' Smart, 31, was named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year for the 2021-22 season and has been named to the All-Defensive first team three times. He has long been one of the league's best backcourt defenders, and he has the ability to effectively guard both small guards and taller wing players. The former Boston Celtic has career averages of 10.6 points, 4.6 assists and 1.6 steals over 11 seasons in the NBA. This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers have officially signed guard Marcus Smart

Mets' Frankie Montas confident with progress, pitch movement after longest outing of season
Mets' Frankie Montas confident with progress, pitch movement after longest outing of season

Yahoo

time21 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Mets' Frankie Montas confident with progress, pitch movement after longest outing of season

Frankie Montas fell just short of becoming the second Mets starter to complete an outing of six-plus innings over the last month, but that's neither here nor there. His job was to keep the game close, and that task was accomplished. While the veteran right-hander's performance didn't include style points, it was still a winning effort, as his 5.2 frames of two-run ball with a season-best six strikeouts helped the Mets rally to a 3-2 win over the Angels on Tuesday night at Citi Field. "I threw some good splitters, good sweepers, good sliders. I thought I had a nice amount of pitches working tonight," Montas said after the game. "I feel pretty good. I would've loved to finish the sixth inning, though. But step by step, I definitely feel better and better every time I step on the mound. I feel like my pitches are moving better. "I'm getting more movement, more strikes. I keep making progress every start... The first two innings, I thought I was missing my location. I tried to throw my pitches in a better spot after that. Things were working better after that." Montas flirted with trouble from the jump, allowing a first-inning double and then a single to Mike Trout that fortunately resulted in Nolan Schanuel being tagged out on a bang-bang play at the plate. In the second, he surrendered a two-out, no-doubt solo homer to Jorge Soler that broke the ice, and Schanuel managed to get some revenge with an RBI double in the fifth that bumped the Angels' lead to 2-0. But Montas retired eight straight batters at one point, and although he left the mound trailing with eight hits allowed, he ultimately earned his third win of the campaign with a boost from the Mets' bats. "I thought he was good. I thought the secondary pitches were good," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of Montas. "He used all of them in the strike zone, expanded when he needed to. He's got to be able to compete in the strike zone with the secondaries -- whether it's the split, the slider, the sweeper. The cutter elevated against a couple of lefties. "The other good sign for me was, he was able to reach 97 [mph] in that sixth inning to get Soler for strike three in the top of the zone. That's a good sign. For him to reach there at 90 pitches, it was really good to see. So, a very good outing and very good step for him." Montas, who threw 58 of a season-high 91 pitches for strikes, now owns a 4.62 ERA and 1.30 WHIP (five starts) since coming off the injured list in late June. He also has a strikeout-walk ratio of 23-to-6 across 25.1 innings, and his reliability will be put to the test next week in a scheduled road matchup with the Padres.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store