It has been 16 years since Manny Pacquiao fought his next opponent, Mario Barrios, a substantial difference in any field, and more so in boxing, where it matters a lot. That is the main concern of many in the return to the ring of the native of General Santos, Philippines.
And it is no small thing that people as close to him as Bob Arum, promoter and personal friend of ‘PacMan’, think and say so, bluntly: “He’s an incredible person, Manny Pacquiao, and if anyone can do it, it’s him. But I’m really worried, given his age and inactivity,” said the Top Rank owner who described the Filipino as “The best fighter I’ve ever seen”.
From retirement to a world championship fight
At 46 years of age, Pacquiao is coming off a four-year layoff and will star – all things being equal – in a bout like Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, but with a real boxer, who although not to the liking of people like Ignacio Beristain, does represent a risk because of the simple factor of the age difference.
In the Filipino boxer’s camp, they know this well, and it seems that they have prioritized certain factors in their training to be able to cope with adversity, if it arises, so a short statement from a member of Pacquiao’s team to Elie Seckbach says a lot about how they see the fight in which the WBC welterweight world championship will be at stake.
Pacquiao prepares for a ‘marathon’
Justin Fortune, Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach, and Buboy Fernandez, Pacquiao’s manager, were present at the scene where Seckbach was present to collect statements, but it was an assistant trainer who ended up giving him the scoop, when questioned about the strategy and his prediction: “It will go 12 rounds,” he said succinctly.
So from that statement it can be assumed that his own team does not trust that ‘PacMan’ can finish the fight early, so instead of a 400-meter race, they have gone on to think of a real marathon. The question is whether Pacquiao will have enough gas.
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