Manny Pacquiao will face Buakaw Banchamek in ‘The Match of the Legends’ in April

Good news for boxing and combat sports fans. Manny Pacquiao will be back in the ring on April 20, in a match where he will be facing the kickboxing icon Buakaw Banchamek.

The event, which is expected to be an exhibition one, will consist of six three-minute boxing rounds with two-minute rest periods between rounds and will be contested at 154 pounds. It will be held at Bangkok’s Impact Arena and will be broadcast via pay-per-view.

Rumors about a fight between the two combat icons started last summer but it hasn’t been till now that it has been confirmed.

Pacquiao, aged 45, hasn’t been in an official bout since August 2021, when he lost to Yordenis Ugas via unanimous decision. Taking into consideration that he’s past his prime, the former eight-division world champion will likely forget about the idea of fighting for another world title and decide to take part in exhibitions to keep entertaining the fans and make money.

Pacquiao, excited about the fight

Once the fight was made official, The PacMan couldn’t hide his excitement and promised that the clash against Banchamek will be a full-packed action event.

“This is going to be an amazing fight”, Pacquiao wrote on social media.

“I will do my best and give good action for fans to make them happy and enjoy the show”, he added.

It will be Pacquiao’s second exhibition fight after facing DK Yoo, but his opponent next April will be more dangerous, as Buakaw is regarded as one of the greatest Muay Thai fighters of all time. Even if it’s a boxing match, which should benefit Pacquiao, the Thai warrior has been more active and is four years younger.

With the official announcement, the likes of Amir Khan and Conor McGregor, who made public their interest in fighting Pacquiao, will have to wait.