Manny Pacquiao is back: who will the ‘Pac-Man’ face in his return to the boxing ring?
The former eight-division world champion will make his return to the ring this summer. But who will Pacquiao take on?
Boxing fans will be able to see boxing living legend Manny Pacquiao in the ring at least one more time.
The Pac-Man, who is targeting a fight against Mario Barrios for the WBC interim welterweight belt later this year, will feature in an exhibition bout this summer, a clash where he will try to look good to justify his chances for a title shot.
His last official match was against Yordenis Ugas at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in 2021. The Philippine superstar lost that fight on points and decided to retire to run for president of his country.
However, his passion has always been boxing and he got back into the ring soon after that to take on martial artist DK Yoo in an exhibition matchup in South Korea, winning on points.
Pacquiao’s next boxing fight: who will he face this summer?
Pacquiao, 45, will return to Asia to fight RIZIN featherweight champion Chihiro Suzuki in a three-round boxing exhibition. The event will be held in Saitama, Japan, on July 28.
The mixed martial arts company announced the event during Sunday’s RIZIN 47 card. The match will have three three-minute rounds and will be contested at 150 pounds. Suzuki has a professional MMA record of 13-3 with one no-contest.
“Good evening everyone,” Pacquiao said to the crowd at the Yoyogi National Stadium.
“Thank you for inviting me tonight. Finally, next month I am going to fight here in Japan and I hope that everybody will get to watch the fight”, he added.
Although Suzuki is a world-class mixed martial artist, with victories over top opponents, Pacquiao is the favorite to come out on top given the fight will take place under boxing rules.