Boxing

Manny Pacquiao's 'Disgraceful' Return To Boxing Put On Blast By Analyst

One boxing analyst conveyed why Manny Pacquiao coming out of retirement to fight is "embarrassing".
Grant Young|
Jul 19, 2019; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Manny Pacquiao weighs in for his WBA welterweight world title boxing fight against Keith Thurman (not pictured) at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Jul 19, 2019; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Manny Pacquiao weighs in for his WBA welterweight world title boxing fight against Keith Thurman (not pictured) at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

On May 8, it was announced that former eight-time world champion and boxing legend Manny Pacquiao would be returning to the ring to fight WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios later this summer.

Pacquiao is currently 46 years old, hasn't fought since suffering a unanimous decision loss against Yordenis Ugas on August 21, 2021, and has not won a fight since earning a split decision victory over Keith Thurman on July 20, 2019.

All of these reasons indicate why many in the boxing community are lamenting Pacquiao coming out of retirement, and chastising the WBC for allowing it and putting him in the ring against their reigning welterweight champion.

One person who made it extremely clear that he doesn't agree with Pacquiao's return is DAZN boxing analyst Ade Oladipo, which he conveyed in a May 13 episode of Ariel & Ade.

"This is embarrassing," Oladipo said. "But it's also a bit disgraceful. Manny Pacquiao, as you just said, is 46 years of age... It is clear to see that this guy can no longer do it at any level, let alone world championship level. And Manny Pacquiao is a volume fighter... You can't do that type of output at 46. It's just not gonna be there. I find it almost comical what [the WBC] are doing.

"Look, fighters will always want to fight," Oladipo continued. "It's up to the sanctioning bodies, it's up to athletic commissions to say, 'No, you can't. Your time's up.' And of course, it's up with Manny Pacquiao. I mean, it's bordering on disgraceful."

Oladipo is not alone with this opinion.

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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.