It’s not over for Pacman
By Joaquin Henson
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 15 Dec 2022
MP Promotions head Sean Gibbons said yesterday Manny Pacquiao’s ring career isn’t over until he ends it and although the boxing icon has announced his retirement, a series of exhibitions or even a real fight may be in the horizon next year. Last weekend, Pacquiao was back in his element and dominated martial arts expert DK Yoo to win a six-round unanimous decision in Goyang, South Korea. The victory, however, won’t be registered in Pacquiao’s pro record as the match was an exhibition with no weight limit and each round went two minutes, not three.
“It ain’t over ‘til Manny says so,” noted Gibbons. “Manny enjoyed himself out there. I think everyone had fun expect Yoo. Starting the third round when Manny put on the pressure, Yoo probably told himself what did he get himself into? After the event, Yoo admitted he couldn’t see where Manny’s punches came from and his punches were like rocks.”
Gibbons said the exhibition wasn’t a gauge of Pacquiao’s preparedness to get back in the ring for serious business. “Hard to make something out of it because in some way, it was comical as the referee (Jang Sung Kim) had no clue of what he was doing or maybe he did just to keep it going for six rounds. Remember last year at 42, Manny gave (Yordenis) Ugas all he could handle and if he fought Errol Spence instead, he would’ve had a clearer target to hit. Manny mentioned he’ll study his options for the future. He’s turning 44 in a few days so let’s wait for developments.”
Gibbons said there’s a market for marquee fighters like Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather to appear in exhibitions. “People want to see Manny,” he said. “People love him and Manny loves them back. It was amazing in Korea how the fans went crazy over Manny. Everybody wanted a photo with him. If he wants to, Manny could do a farewell tour like Kobe (Bryant) did in his last season. He could go around the world doing exhibitions.”
Gibbons said if Pacquiao agrees to a real fight again, it will be in the welterweight division. “Manny weighed a little over 160 for Yoo, that’s actually his walking weight,” he said. “Yoo was close to 175 so Manny wanted to get heavy. Manny knows his body. He showed he can still fight, the handspeed, footwork, power----they were all there. He’s a competitor. He won’t back down from anybody, not Terrence Crawford, not Spence.”
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