Living legend Manny Pacquiao will turn 47 this December, yet the all-time great has options. In fact, quite amazingly for a man of his years, for a man who has been fighting as a professional since way back in 1995, Pacquiao has a number of big-fight options open to him. Due to his overall impressive showing against the much younger Mario Barrios a few weeks back, with Pac-Man holding the reigning WBC welterweight champ to a draw that plenty of people felt Mega-Manny had actually won, the Filipino legend remains a player at world level.
Currently enjoying a well-earned vacation in Italy, Pacquiao spoke with boxing reporter Dyan Castillejo, and when he was asked if he plans on fighting again this year, Manny replied in the affirmative:
“This year….in December,” Pacquiao said, in a short and sweet manner.
Will it be Barrios, Romero, or something much bigger?
So, who might the sport’s only eight-division world champion fight when he returns before the end of the year? There is of course the possibility of a return fight with Barrios, and plenty of people feel Manny can improve on his first fight showing against the 30-year-old and beat him in a rematch. Then there is talk of Pacquiao fighting Rolly Romero, who also holds a version of the world welterweight title.
And, as we all kind of guessed might happen after Manny’s creditable performance against Barrios, there is some talk of Pacquiao taking a massive money rematch with Floyd Mayweather. Pac-Man has said, though, that he wants a real fight only, not an exhibition bout. Another name that has also been linked to Pacquiao’s is that of Gervonta “Tank” Davis, but who knows what’s going on with Tank and his ring career at this point in time?
One last great run, or the final chapter?
But Pac-Man, 62-8-3(39) says we can expect to see him in the ring again this year, and though there were plenty of critics who said his latest ring comeback should not have happened, that it should not have been allowed, Manny proved them wrong with his strong performance; even though he didn’t get the win. Can Pacquiao improve on his comeback, or was the Barrios performance the last great effort from a boxing superstar?