Manny’s Return, Shakur Calls Kambosos’ Win A Robbery

Manny Pacquiao will officially make a return to boxing to engage in a 2024 exhibition. 

The eight-division world champion will face off against Muay Thai specialist/kickboxer Buakaw Banchamek.

Manny may be 45 years-old, but he is showing no signs that he is falling out of love with the sport.

In contrast, Banchamek is 41-years-old, who has a huge pedigree for being a former K-1 World MAX champion on two occasions. 

It will not be a conventional bout, as both fighters will be allowed to take a two-minute rest breaks in between rounds.

The following rules confirmed as much: “Pacquiao and Buakaw will fight for six rounds of three minutes each with a two-minute break between rounds. The weight is 70kgs [155 pounds].”

Nevertheless, this should not come as a surprise. Following Manny’s decision to sign with RIZN in 2022, it was clear that the Filipino would be having more exhibitions.

He has already faced Kota Miura and Yoshihiro Sato, both of whom Pacquiao stopped in devastating fashion. Meanwhile, Manny’s last fight was a win over DK Yoo. 

And this time around, he is equally excited to get back in the ring. 

Manny’s Comments

“I will do my best and give good action for fans to make them happy and enjoy the show. Thank you with great respect to Vinij Lertratanachai, Fresh Air Festival. Thank you also to Buakaw Banchamek and his team.

“Special thank you to LOL International. Thank you to all the fans and all the media for coming out and showing your support. This will be an amazing fight,” Manny

This would firmly rule out a comeback to the sport as a professional boxer. After all, Manny had been linked with a return against Conor Benn.

But given that the latter is currently being investigated by UKAD for his two failed tests for Clomiphene, that has been ruled out. 

And seeing Pacquiao having the chance to lace up his gloves once again will be a memorable moment for the fans. And there is no getting away from that.

Shakur Stevenson

Shakur Stevenson has reacted to George Kambosos Jr.’s win over Maxi Hughes by stating it was a ‘robbery.’

Kambosos beat Hughes via a majority decision in a bout where the Brit landed several clean shots on the Australian.

The bout was for an IBF lightweight title eliminator, which made the stakes much higher. Hughes’ left hand continued to connect to the head and body of Kambosos, as the latter suffered a huge cut above his right eye that continued to bleed.

Although that may have been the case, Stevenson called out the scorecards. The judges scored it as follows: 114-114, 117-111. 115-113. The scorecard of 117 raised many eyebrows, as Stevenson had a few choice words to say about it. 

“I thought it was a robbery. I thought Maxi boxed well, and I thought he was the better fighter. “I think that the judges should be held to a higher criteria.

“I think that they should be focused on the boxers, and I think they should do a lot more to become a judge. I feel like they’re not watching the fights and paying too much attention to the fights. I think it’s messing up boxing,” Stevenson said 

Stevenson On Haney

This is not the first time that Stevenson has been vocal about a boxing decision. He was equally outraged by Devin Haney’s unanimous-decision win over Vasiliy Lomachenko by stating that the Ukrainian had been robbed.

And given what he had seen by Kambosos, Stevenson was equally confident that he could beat the former unified lightweight champion. And in doing so, Stevenson is keen on targeting the biggest names in the lightweight division 

“I want to fight the best of the best. As of right now, Kambosos is not on my level. I want to fight the Lomachenkos, the Devin Haneys, the Gervonta Davis.

“Them are the fights I’m looking for. If you see me fighting Kambosos, y’all know I’m going to stop him. That’s how I feel about it.

“I don’t feel like he’s on that level, but if I don’t have no choice and he’s the next step down, I’ll beat him up too,” Stevenson 

As an old head, in the form of Pacquiao who has bowed out of the sport as a pro, Stevenson is keen on making his own legacy.

And given the fact that he is a two-division champion, Shakur has a long way to go before he can match the achievements that Manny has done. 

However, if he can secure the mega fights in the lightweight division by beating Haney and Tank Davis, then he has the chance to go down as a hall-of-famer. With that being said, time will tell how it all plays out moving forward. 

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