Boxing

Manny Pacquiao's Coach Makes Blunt Comment About His Speed And Power At 46

Manny Pacquiao's longtime coach sent a strong message about his fighter's speed and power at this point.

Grant Young

Hall of Fame boxing legend Manny Pacquiao on June 3, 2025.
Hall of Fame boxing legend Manny Pacquiao on June 3, 2025. / IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

The boxing world is now nearly one month away from when 46-year-old legend Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao will be returning to the ring for a professional fight for the first time in about four years to face reigning WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios.

Frankly, fans are conflicted about Pacquiao coming out of retirement to face Barrios. While there is undoubtedly countless fans who can't wait to see the beloved Filipino former champion make his return to the sweet science, Pacquiao's advanced age (he's 16 years older than Barrios) also brings a level of concern, if only because history hasn't been kind to most boxers who are trying to win championships into their fourties.

Some of this worry was heightened when videos of Pacquiao's training for this July 19 fight surfaced on social media, and fans felt like Pacquiao looked a slower and stiffer version of himself than they had ever seen before this point.

The common sentiment within combat sports is that a fighter's speed is the first thing to go once they get older. Along with that typically goes their chin. And most believe that the last thing to leave an aging fighter is their power.

However, Pacquiao's head strength and conditioning coach Justin Fortune sent a strong message about Pacquiao's speed and power during an interview with ESNews at the end of May.

“Listen, on the mitts and bags, they don’t punch back, but he looks the same as he did six or seven years ago. He hasn’t missed a beat," Fortune said of Pacquiao. He then added, “Barrios gets hit a lot, and [Pacquiao is] the last person you want to get hit a lot by. I think it’s a stoppage. It won’t go the distance.”

Fans will have to wait until July 19 to see whether Fortune's prediction comes true or whether Pacquiao's age asserts itself against Barrios.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Boxing, Women’s Basketball, and the New York Mets for On SI. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years, and he thinks it’s time that Canelo Álvarez fights David Benavidez.