‘Pac-Man is back’: Manny Pacquiao insists ring return is more than a one-time deal
Manny Pacquiao’s impressive performance in his return to the ring Saturday night against Mario Barrios at the MGM Grand Garden wasn’t enough to earn the 46-year-old a victory.
It was, however, enough for Pacquiao to make a strong declaration about his fighting future.
“The Pac-Man is back and the journey will continue,” he said after battling Barrios to a majority draw in a WBC welterweight title bout in his first pro fight in nearly four years. “I’m still here.”
In fact, he may still have some unfinished business from Saturday night. While Pacquiao, much of social media and the overwhelming majority of the extraordinarily partisan fans in the building believed he had easily won the fight, the Compubox numbers, and more importantly the judges, disagreed.
“We had a great fight,” Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach said. “Manny fought very well and even had a knockdown that wasn’t counted. I thought he won the fight 8-4, but that’s the way things go.
“We’d like a rematch right away.”
That request was seconded by Pacquiao and agreed to by Barrios, who retained the belt with the draw in front of 13,107 fans, with what seemed like at least 13,000 rooting on the Hall of Famer.
“No hesitation,” Barrios said about granting the rematch request. “I feel like if he wants to run it back, that’s his choice. But I’m with it. I think this was big for boxing. I’m still holding that title, so if not we’ll just move to the next big thing.”
Barrios may not fight as tentatively should they meet again, but he insisted that wasn’t the result of showing too much reverence for Pacquiao on Saturday.
“It wasn’t necessarily about respect,” Barrios insisted. “He still has a lot of crack for his age. He was explosive and very tricky. I didn’t want to make a mistake by overcommitting on a shot I wasn’t sure of.”
That’s probably a good sign for Pacquiao if he truly is making another run at resuming his career at this stage of his life. He first made a comeback in 2021 after sitting out two years and looked timid and sluggish in a loss to Yordenis Ugas.
While Pacquiao tired late in Saturday’s fight, he came out looking quicker and more dangerous against Barrios.
“Although the decision is not really in my favor and I’m sad, I did my best and I’m happy with my performance,” said Pacquiao, who in May lost a senatorial election in the Philippines and only then began training. “For four years, I didn’t have a fight so training two months is not enough. But for the two months training, I disciplined myself and focused on nothing but training. I should have had three or four months, but I was campaigning and so busy. That’s why I started late. But despite all that, I did my best in the fight and I really thought I won.”
He expects a more complete training camp the next time he takes the ring, whether that’s for a rematch against Barrios or some other big draw.
There was some random online speculation about a potential boxing match against UFC star Conor McGregor, who hasn’t competed since 2021 and now appears significantly larger than Pacquiao.
Pacquiao was asked in the postfight news conference if he was interested in a rematch against Floyd Mayweather Jr., who is now 48 and last had a sanctioned professional fight in 2017.
“It’s hard to talk about someone who retired already,” Pacquiao said. “If he comes out, sign the contract and we’ll fight. I have no problem with that. I’m active now, so I’ll fight them all in my weight division.”
That was Pacquiao’s biggest message coming out of Saturday’s performance, where he certainly didn’t embarrass himself and probably did more than enough to get fans interested in watching him again.
He wasn’t dipping his toes in the water. He’s an active fighter again.
“Forget about politics. I’m a private citizen right now,” said Pacquiao, who is interested in making a mark on the world far beyond his résumé in the ring. “I want to live a simple life giving inspiration and I want to help people. That’s my heart, to leave a legacy, because I always say to everyone to create a legacy to leave behind when you’re gone because we’re not here forever. We’re just passing by. Therefore, as much as possible, while you still have strength and the capacity to make a legacy, make it. At the end of the day, you won’t regret it because that’s how people will remember you in the next generation.”
Pacquiao showed he has the strength and capacity to keep fighting.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
