Legendary Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao plans to return to boxing in an agreed fight against American Mario Barrios potentially for the WBC welterweight title, where ‘Pac-Man’ is 16 years older than his opponent.

However, Pacquiao looked pretty bad against Japanese kickboxer Rukiya Anpo in a three-round exhibition fight, where the Filipino’s age showed and he was unable to do anything against the Japanese, putting his return to the sport of boxing at serious risk.

THANK YOU EVERYONE! Thank you Rizin for a great event and to Anpo for a great fight. THANK YOU TO ALL OF JAPAN! Thanks to my family, team, and friends for your love and support. Thank you, my fellow Filipinos, for your prayers and support. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas 🇵🇭

Above all,… pic.twitter.com/sKJuxrUBXH

— Manny Pacquiao (@MannyPacquiao) July 28, 2024

Pacquiao asked not to return to boxing

There are already several voices in the boxing world asking Pacquiao to reconsider his decision and not to rush back, as things can go very wrong for him, one of them being Ben Shalom of BOXXER Promotions.

Manny Pacquiao is considering a return to professional boxing, but is it worth the risk? After a tough exhibition fight against kickboxer Rukiya Anpo, promoter Ben Shalom has advised him to rethink his plans, citing concerns about Pacquiao's health and performance. While there’s… pic.twitter.com/Prrepew22k

— FTTV Boxing (@FTTVBoxing) July 30, 2024

Manny Pacquiao last boxed professionally on August 21, 2021, where he lost by unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas in what was a WBA super welterweight title bout at the age of 42 at the time.

After the fight, Pac-Man announced his retirement from boxing and ran for president of the Philippines on September 19 of the same year, citing that he had ‘already fought for a long time’ and his family had asked him to do so.