Former eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao, 44-years-old, returned to the ring on Sunday in an exhibition match at the KINTEX arena in Goyang, which is near Seoul, Korea.
It was Pacquiao’s first in-ring fight since retiring last year in the aftermath of his twelve round decision loss to Yordenis Ugas.
Once retiring from the sport, the Filipino star had worked very hard in his campaign to become the President of the Philippines, but ultimately failed.
Pacquiao took the exhibition with South Korean YouTuber DK Yoo to raise money for Ukraine in their ongoing conflict with Russia, and also to provide funds for homeless Filipinos.
During the fight, he basically toyed with Yoo in a contest that consisted of six two-minute rounds.
Yoo, who is regarded in South Korea as a skilled in martial artist, had a big size advantage that proved worthless in the fight.
Pacquiao easily claimed a unanimous decision, as Yoo was very tired after a few rounds. Yoo was knocked down several times, but for whatever reason the referee disregarded several of the knockdowns and tabbed them as slips.
In the final two rounds, it appeared Pacquiao was starting to take the fight more seriously and was trying to knock Yoo out. The Korean star barely survived the onslaught. It seemed as if the referee had given him every possible opening to survive until the final bell.
After the fight, Pacquiao left the door open with respect to an actual comeback in 2023, by telling a ringside reporter – “You’ll see” – with respect to a ring return.
“[The fight with Yoo was a] very good stepping stone to come back. This is a great opportunity to come back in the ring. I thought it was easy to retire… I really missed boxing. I felt lonely when I retired from boxing,” Pacquiao said.
Pacquiao would also be willing to face Floyd Mayweather in a high-profile exhibition fight. Mayweather, who decisioned Pacquiao in 2015, has taken part in several exhibition fights – including three in 2022.
“I don’t know [if he’ll accept an exhibition with me], I don’t have an idea because that guy always changes his decision,” Pacquiao said.
–boxingscene.com
