Pacquiao Warned About Returning – ‘God Forbid Something Could Happen’
Teddy Atlas has warned Manny Pacquiao about making his boxing comeback.
Pacquiao returns to the ring at 46 against the WBC Welterweight Champion Mario Barrios. Pacman left boxing in 2021 after suffering a loss to Yordenis Ugas. However, he left his mark in the sport. He became an eight-time world champion while also holding the record for the oldest welterweight champion ever. He achieved the latter when he beat Keith Thurman at 40 in 2019. Since his 2021 retirement, Pacman has had some exhibitions. He took on Japanese kickboxer Rukiya Anpo in his last bout. It was not his finest performance, as he was outboxed during those three rounds.
Pacquiao’s return has faced backlash. Many are questioning why he has received a WBC ranking at number five when he has not boxed in four years. His return also damages a unification fight as Brian Norman Jr. and Jaron Ennis will have to wait. Most notably, there are safety concerns, especially since there was backlash over Mike Tyson returning at 58 to face off against Jake Paul. Atlas has now had his say over Pacquiao’s return.
Atlas On Pacquiao
“I hope Manny Pacquiao is not fighting for money because the great Manny Pacquiao with all the greatness in his life and everything he’s accomplished and done in the ring outside the ring, for his people, for the Filipino people, for the world, for the audience, the boxing fans. For all that he’s done – it would be unfair to have him now, at this point in his life, to be having to fight for money.
“I have no problem with him jumping the line out of the respect for what he’s done, the problem is where he is in his life physically and what that really means, and what it can mean, and the damage he can do to a sport he obviously loves if God forbid something could happen to Manny Pacquiao at this point, because of the things that I think we’re honestly talking about,” Atlas said
Comments
Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.
