Boxing

Manny Pacquiao Answers Whether Money Was The Reason For Boxing Return

Boxing icon Manny Pacquiao was asked to address whether he came out of retirement for the money.
Grant Young|
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

On July 19, 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao will be returning to the ring for a professional fight for the first time in almost exactly four years in order to face Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight belt.

Pacquiao's decision to come out of retirement seemingly came out of nowhere. Add to that the fact that he has spent most of his energy in recent years on non-boxing endeavors, such as politics, and some fans are questioning his motivation for taking on this fight against a much younger and hungrier champion.

There's no question that Pacquiao is going to make a good deal of money in his return, and he surely knew this would be the case when he elected to end his retirement. Therefore, a common narrative as the fight approaches has been whether Pacquiao is taking this fight (and the health risk that comes with it) for the money. And if that is indeed his main motivation, there's a question of whether fans can truly expect the best version of him come July.

Pacquiao was asked directly by a reporter about this during a May 31 media scrum, when the reporter posed, "Manny, how much of this comeback is about money?"

"The comeback, the reason why I came back, is because I want to, I miss boxing," Pacquiao responded, per a May 31 video from FightHype.com. "I want to be a champion again. And I can still [be] that. In my heart, in my mind, I can still be a champion."

Boxing fans are hoping this is truly the case, especially because every time an aged fighter seems to take a fight for a reason other than wanting to be the best, it doesn't end well for them.

Regardless of what Pacquiao's motivations may be, that isn't going to stop Barrios from trying to put a beating on him once they meet in the ring on July 19.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.