The world titles he captured were historical. The amount of Hall of Fame fighters he beat along the way was astonishing. And, most importantly, the amount of physical punishment that Manny Pacquiao placed his body through was astronomical.
Following his close unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Yordenis Ugas in 2021, Pacquiao decided that enough was enough. He slinked back into his political chair and placed all of his attention on becoming the next President of the Philippines.
Despite his popularity, however, his presidential run came up short. Outside of that, Pacquiao still had plenty to keep himself occupied. He does a ton of philanthropy work and spends a bunch of time with his family. Still, the need to punch someone in the face is still running through his veins.
Although he could sit back and enjoy the fruits of labor, Pacquiao recently revealed he’s done that long enough.
“I’m coming back,” Pacquiao told 210 Boxing TV.
In a way, Pacquiao’s comeback trail had already begun. In December of 2022, the former Senator scored a unanimous decision victory over DK Yoo. That trend will now continue. In the early portion of 2024, the former eight-division champ will have a three-round exhibition bout against Buakaw Banchamek, a multiple-time kickboxing champion.
Pacquiao (62-8-2 39 KOs) has always floated around the idea of taking part in exhibitions, much like Floyd Mayweather. Yet, unlike Mayweather, who has no intentions of coming out of retirement, Pacquiao revealed that he isn’t using Banchamek as simply a way to pick up a few bucks and showcase some of the skills that will make a Hall of Famer. Instead, the now 44-year-old will be taking the former kickboxing star dead serious and attempt to wipe some of the rust off before he takes on a more credible opponent.
“I have an exhibition fight for a tune-up.”