Talks about this much-publicized comeback had been making the rounds of websites since last year.
When Manny Pacquiao floated the idea that he was seriously considering a ring return, everyone just let it pass.
Pacquiao had been retired since 2021 and any talk of a comeback just didn’t sound good given that the last time he fought — against Yordenis Ugas of Cuba — he was a far cry from the eight-division legend who mesmerized the world the last 20 years.
Last month in the US, everything became official when Pacquiao announced that he is back and that he will be challenging Mario Barrios, 16 years younger than him at 30, for the World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight title.
The venue? The MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
It was right there in June 2001 when Pacquiao, then a scrawny southpaw from out of nowhere, knocked out the heavily-favored Lehlo Ledwaba to nail the International Boxing Federation super-bantamweight diadem.
What made his victory so impressive was the fact that he was a last-minute substitute.
But what the American boxing media wasn’t aware of was that Pacquiao was in terrific shape when the call came for him to step up to the plate.
Pacquiao came to America sometime in May, just a couple of weeks after scoring a sensational stoppage in Kidapawan, North Cotabato.
So, when he showed up at the Wild Card Boxing Club of Freddie Roach as a complete unknown, Pacquiao was in fiery form.
On the 19th of July, Pacquiao is fighting in the very same arena to fulfill his mission.
That is to become one of the oldest fighters in history to ever capture a world title.
Bernard Hopkins did it at age 50 while George Foreman also got the job done at 46.
Though Pacquiao now sports a streak of silver hair, the stone-fisted and cat-quick Pacquiao insists he is a young 46, not a fat and women-chasing and alcohol-addicted 46.
In fact, the long layoff, Pacquiao swears, is more of a boon than a bane.
“The years that I was not active gave me the opportunity to rest and recharge my body. Nowadays, I feel alive and excited to be back training,” he said from his Los Angeles training camp.
In the years he was retired, Pacquiao attended matters pertaining to politics.
In that span, he also ‘fought’ two exhibitions, one in Korea and the second in Japan.
Next month, his clash with Barrios is nowhere near an exhibition.
It is going to be a real fight with the guy on the opposite side intending to permanently send him into permanent retirement.
Barrios is not just young.
He is six-feet tall and is fresh, traits that Pacquiao doesn’t have.
Barrios, though not considered the top banana in the 147-pound division, is a solid opponent.
He toyed with Ugas, the dude who forced Pacquiao to announce his retirement following their August 2021 encounter at the T-Mobile Arena.
And given his huge edge in youth and physical attributes, no wonder Barrios is the oddsmakers’ favorite.
As of this writing, Barrios is listed as -300 ($300 wins $100) while Pacquiao is +250 ($100 wins $250).
One can’t blame the experts for downgrading Pacquiao into the role of the underdog, a lowly status he found himself in when he fought Oscar De La Hoya in 2008.
Against Floyd Mayweather in May 2015, Pacquiao was likewise the underdog but not as lopsided as this one with Barrios.
Still, Pacquiao and his camp are of the belief that the recently-enshrined Hall of Famer will rise to the occasion and shock the world anew.
Knowing Pacquiao, it will be hard and even kind of foolish to bet against him because he has turned back the clock a few times and risen from the grave, too.