Gibbons: Manny Pacquiao “could be fighting until he’s 50”
Manny Pacquiao feels that “he could be fighting until he’s 50” according to MP Promotions president Sean Gibbons.
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Pacquiao “could be fighting until he’s 50”
Pacquiao, who will turn 46 years old on December 17, has not fought professionally since 2021.
The Filipino boxing legend had been linked to a potential bout against WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios.
However, the bout did not materialize, as Pacquiao was focused on filing his certificate of candidacy to run for the Senate in the Philippines.
Instead, Barrios defended his title against Abel Ramos on the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson undercard on November 7 and successfully retained it.
Still, Gibbons said that the eight-division world champion is ready to fight Barrios before the election comes.
As a matter fact, Pacquiao’s right-hand man believes that he “could be fighting until he’s 50.”
“He’s running for Senate in the Phillippines from February 11 to May 11. If he gets something by January 31, 2025 he’s ready to rumble,” Gibbons told BoxingScene.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen after that … With Manny, he could be fighting until he’s 50.”
Pacquiao is ready this time
Pacquiao looked like a shell of himself in a July exhibition against Rukiya Anpo.
The exhibition ended in a draw.
“Manny didn’t look as good against Anpo because of a lot of things behind the scenes that went into it,” Gibbons explained.
“He didn’t overly prepare for it. He thought he was fighting someone else and it ended up being a bigger guy. He felt great. What else can you do? It was an exhibition. He was there just to move around. The other guy thought it was a real fight. He came to make a name off of Manny and Manny still easily cruised through the thing for a guy that got off the couch.”
Nonetheless, Pacquiao’s camp remains adamant about scheduling a fight with Barrios as soon as possible.
“I told Manny that the Barrios fight was the perfect fight to make. Things got in the way with certain people in his ear, but that fight is still possible. It could happen in June, July, or August – one last one,” Gibbons said.
