Who would have imagined that in 2025, we would still be talking about Manny Pacquiao not as a retired legend or a ceremonial figurehead of boxing, but as a returning and live competitor inside the ring?
With 12 major world titles spread across an unprecedented eight weight classes, the proud son of General Santos City has long since etched his name into the very foundation of boxing history. He had nothing left to prove — not to himself, not to the fans, and certainly not to the brutal sport that transformed him from a hungry teenager into a global icon.
And yet, at 46 years old, the Filipino icon chose once more to defy convention — and Father Time — by stepping through the ropes at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas last Sunday, January 20 (Manila time). His opponent was no token warm-up act. It was Mario Barrios, the reigning WBC welterweight champion, a pugilist sixteen years younger, fresher, and expected by many to usher Pacquiao gently out of relevance.
The odds were stacked against him. A four-year hiatus from competition, a body weathered by decades of warfare, and the sting of past underwhelming performances loomed large. Even the most loyal among us harbored doubts. This writer, too, questioned whether Pacquiao still had the reflexes, the fire, and the ability to pull the trigger in a sport that shows no mercy to age.
But then came the bell. Barrios attempted to impose his youth and reach with stiff jabs and calculated movement, but by the middle rounds, something incredible began to unfold. The bounce returned to Pacquiao’s legs. He began to dart in and out with that familiar rhythm, firing combinations from unexpected angles. The cobwebs cleared. The engine roared back to life.
It wasn’t the same relentless blur of punches that we saw in his twenties, but it was undeniably Pacquiao. It was the man who humiliated Oscar De La Hoya, dismantled Miguel Cotto, and walked through Antonio Margarito’s size advantage like a man possessed.
By round seven, Barrios found himself tentative, hesitant to engage. His jab turned from a weapon into a shield as the fistic sensation across from him began dictating the tempo with quick lefts and blazing 1-2s that rendered the younger fighter’s physical gifts irrelevant. Pacquiao, far beyond his prime, had turned back the clock just enough to command respect inside that squared circle.
Just when we expected the elder statesman to fade, he surged. In the later rounds, Barrios became a stationary target, repeatedly tagged by an older foe who had no business still being this fast, this sharp, this alive under pressure. It was not just a performance; it was a statement.
When the final bell rang, I believed Pacquiao had done enough to claim the crown. But the judges — Tim Cheatham, Max DeLuca, and Steve Weisfeld — rendered a majority draw: 114-114 twice, and 115-113 in favor of Barrios. It was a deflating verdict, one that denied “Pac-Man” the chance to become the oldest welterweight world champion and the first Hall of Famer to win a major title post-induction.
But rather than dwell on what was taken, I choose to celebrate what was given.
We witnessed greatness one more time. We saw the same spirit that conquered legends like Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales come alive again. We saw the same relentless drive, the same unshakable heart.
They say you can’t put a good man down. I say, when that man is Manny Pacquiao, you can’t even slow him down — not really. Because true legends don’t fade. They reignite. They endure. They remind us, even decades later, why they were never ordinary to begin with.
And Manny Pacquiao? He is nothing less than extraordinary.
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