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His political career over, 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao returns to the ring for a world title shot

His political career over, 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao returns to the ring for a world title shot

Irish Times4 days ago
'Not only boxing, but the world would be better off if every division had a
Manny Pacquiao
. We'd have peace in the
Middle East
and global warming would cool off.'
That was the tongue-in-cheek appraisal of Manny Pacquiao from
HBO
's legendary
boxing
commentator Larry Merchant in 2006. By the time he made the remarks, Merchant had practically been converted into a disciple of the Filipino fighter.
Pacquaio, nicknamed 'Pac-Man', seemed to take the advice literally in the years that followed, winning world titles in a record eight weight classes. He also took Merchant at his word outside the ring, to varying degrees of success and failure.
It's not to say self-belief is a bad thing; Pacquiao started life in poverty, selling cigarettes on the streets, only to become a global sports icon and one of the most famous people in the Philippines. In a career of 72 bouts, he won 62 and reportedly banked a nine-figure sum for his fight with Floyd Mayweather in 2015.
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All the same, the confidence that helped him achieve glory in the ring has led Pacquiao into some embarrassing side shows. He's been the star of box-office flops and launched a music career that included strained and cringy performances on Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show. He also had a stint as player-coach of a basketball team in the Philippines. His most successful side hustle outside of boxing, though, has undoubtedly been politics.
Pacquiao's political career was initially promising, due to his fame and charitable reputation. His successful campaigns for the house of representatives in 2010 and then the senate six years later proved that he had plenty of support from voters. This period wasn't all cream and peaches, though. Critics at home lambasted him for missing senate sessions, as he continued to fight across the Pacific. Nike withdrew its sponsorship of Pacquiao in 2016 after he described people in same-sex relationships as 'worse than animals'.
His boxing career started to slow up around that time too, with four losses between 2012 and 2017. His final fight came in 2021, a unanimous decision loss against Cuba's Yordenis Ugás. With the
presidential election
the following year,
Pacquiao retired from boxing to focus solely on politics
. Four years on, he says he has retired from politics to focus solely on boxing.
TGB Promotions president Tom Brown (middle) looks on as Manny Pacquiao (left) and WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios pose ahead of their fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Photograph:For all his fame and popularity, Pacquiao never stood a chance in the presidential race, finishing third, 28 million votes behind the victorious Bongbong Marcos. On the campaign trail, Pacquiao criticised both Bongbong and his old ally, incumbent president Rodrigo Duterte, who was jailed and has since been transferred to the Hague for crimes against humanity. Pacquiao later joined Bongbong's party for the 2025 senate election, but failed to regain his seat, a disaster that has left him totally adrift politically.
It has been 24 years since Pacquiao first appeared on the radar of most boxing fans. The year was 2001 and he comprehensively defeated the highly-rated junior featherweight champion Lehlo Ledwaba. Merchant was also on commentary duty that night and admitted: 'I had never seen him, I frankly had never heard of him. But I've seen and heard of him now, and I want to see him again.'
In the following years, Pacquiao transformed from an athletic southpaw reliant on a powerful left cross, into a hard-punching speedster, with wonderful footwork and relentless combination punching. Even if his defence was shaky, in his prime years he stopped great fighters like Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya and Miguel Cotto. He sold tens of millions of pay-per-view subscriptions in the US along the way. It's around 15 years since that period, but his name still holds weight in the sport.
From a promotional perspective, his opponent this Saturday, WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios (29-2-1) might as well be anyone, such is the difference in popularity between the two fighters. Barrios even said it was 'cool to know he (Pacquiao) knew who I was'. With four recognised world titles on offer in every division, there's usually at least one champion who could be seen as easy pickings. and At welterweight, that's Barrios. And that's exactly why he's been chosen for the comeback fight.
Still, Barrios gave Ugás an absolute pasting in 2023 and has only lost twice, both to top-class fighters. He is also 16 years younger than Pacquiao and there is no such thing as an easy mark in boxing when you're 46. That age disadvantage is highlighted further by the fact that Pacquiao was already the oldest welterweight champion in history four years ago, before the Ugás fight.
Manny Pacquiao's fight against Floyd Mayweather in 2015 was reportedly the most lucrative in boxing history. Photograph:The wider problem is that Mayweather and Pacquiao remain the last two superstars in American boxing; which explains why Pacquiao has waltzed back into a world title shot immediately. Amazon Prime are showing the fight on pay-per-view at a price of $80 (€69), but even if they do good numbers it's not a long-term solution. It's just another fight where boxing seems to wake from its slumber, only to hit the snooze button right after.
It is 30 years ago this month since a 16-year-old Pacquiao recorded his first knockout victory in the ring. For comparison, the teenage sensation of that summer in Ireland was Jason Sherlock, who won the All-Ireland with Dublin aged 19. There's not much chance of him pulling on a jersey now. That kind of thing only happens in the wild west of sport.
If Pacquiao gets badly beaten by Barrios, then it's a sad ending for a truly great pugilist. There's no reason to think that it would stop the ever-increasing frequency of freakshow fights either (see Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul). Barrios is decent, but has already proved to be below the top level, and someone else will be along to pick him off soon enough if Pac-Man can't. On the other hand, if Pacquiao performs reasonably well, or even wins, then the truly elite fighters around that weight could start to circle, looking to put a legend on their CV and flat on his back.
WBC welterweight championship
: Manny Pacquiao vs Mario Barrios, MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Sunday, 4am Irish time, Amazon Prime
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Denis O'Brien-owned Camiral in Spain to host Ryder Cup in 2031

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Nicky English: I believed anything could happen in a Cork-Tipp match but wasn't quite prepared for this
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TV View: ‘I'm not sure where Cork have gone, but they're not on the pitch at the moment'
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time2 days ago

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TV View: ‘I'm not sure where Cork have gone, but they're not on the pitch at the moment'

Scottie Scheffler was six points up at half-time and looked home and hosed, but five early birdies after the break brought Tipperary right back in to it – and then John McGrath's hole-in-one gave them the lead. It was remarkable stuff. Having had one hand on the Claret Jug, Cork were lost in the rough, their cause hardly helped by too many wides from full-forward Rory McIlroy . 'This is astonishing,' Marty Morrissey bellowed. 'That it is,' whispered Ewen Murray. 'Did I mention I won six majors?' asked Nick Faldo. You know yourself, it was one of those discombobulating channel-hopping afternoons. Saturday morning had been a challenge too, but at least the Lions had the good grace to kick off against Australia well before the big guns got under way at Portrush , so there was no need for multi-viewing. There was, though, no end of cross-coding through it all. 'DONEGAL FOR SAM,' hollered a voice from the crowd when Shane Lowry teed off at the 12th on Friday, while at least a dozen Cork shirts celebrated Dan Sheehan's try in Brisbane. And as Marty Morrissey pointed out, offering Tipp a potentially positive omen, before last week, the only years Portrush had staged the Open were 1951 and 2019 ... and Tipp had brought Liam home both times. 2025? Hmm. READ MORE Dónal Óg Cusack, safe to say, was revved up. When he assembled with Joanne Cantwell, Liam Sheedy and Anthony Daly outside Croke Park, he was in moving statues mode. [ Scottie Scheffler takes another giant stride into golfing pantheon after stunning Open success Opens in new window ] Pointing to Michael Cusack, he said: 'I see him coming to life and coming down off the plinth and using that stick on some of the bluffers who are meant to be promoting hurling ... but let's park that for the day.' Joanne and Liam and Anthony looked at each other in a kind of an 'ah Jesus, he's off already' way, but thereafter he focused on the game, so all was good. Which it certainly was for Cork come half-time – six points up. All over? Well, no. All you can assume is that Liam Cahill's half-time chat reached I Have A Dream and Sermon on the Mount levels. 'I'm not sure where Cork have gone, but they're not on the pitch at the moment,' said Marty as the Rebels were blown away. Tipperary's Darragh McCarthy scores a penalty. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho Having already said hello to people in 'Mexico and Shanghai', and such like, Marty geographically spread himself as the Tipp rising surged. 'If they level this one after being six points down at half-time, the roar will be heard in Boston, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.' And when they converted that penalty? 'Whether you're in Australia, New York, Boston, Bantry or wherever, you've got to love the game of hurling!' Heavy Boston bias there, South America utterly overlooked, there'll be no welcome for Marty in Medellín or Maracaibo any time soon. [ The anatomy of a collapse – how Cork managed to lose the second half by 3-14 to 0-2 Opens in new window ] 'This is unbelievable,' said Michael Duignan, and that it was, it was a second half turnaround like few others. Cork played like they were cemented to a plinth, Tipp performing like they were unleashed like circus lions in to the wild. Come full-time, Slievenamon filled the Croke Park air, the Tipp folk ecstatic, the Cork crew Googling 'how to mend 20 years of hurt'. 'And it feels like the winter is just going on for 20 years,' said Dónal Óg of his county's two-decade All-Ireland drought. Tipp's drought only dated back to 2019, but if you claim you saw it ending this year, there's no lie detector test on earth you'd pass. 'My mother probably has the rosary beads swallowed at this stage, and my father has probably the cows milked three times with nervousness,' Tipp manager Liam Cahill told Damian Lawlor, although you'd a notion there wouldn't be a cow milked in Ballingarry for another fortnight. The best post-match chat of all was with Tipp's Darragh McCarthy who joined the panel after the game, the 19-year-old having been lifted from the depths by his comrades after his two red cards this championship season, rewarding their kindness with just the 1-13 in the final. 'A gem,' said Anthony of the young fella, which he is, as is Tipp captain Ronan Maher for his tribute to the late Dillon Quirke during his victory speech. They're the finest of men, these fellas. Back at Portrush. 'Is there anything left to be said about Scottie Sheffler,' asked Ewen. 'No,' Wayne Riley replied. Sometimes you just have to watch and purr, sometimes there are no words. Tipp and Scottie Abu.

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