Boxing

Manny Pacquiao Sends Strong Message On Concern About Fighting At 46

46-year-old icon Manny Pacquiao got honest about fan concerns around him fighting at his age.
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

Given that Manny Pacquiao will be 46 years old when he enters the ring to fight against reigning WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios on July 19, there has been a lot of concern among Pacquiao's fans (and the entire boxing community as a whole) about whether his doing so is a safe and smart decision.

That clearly isn't stopping Pacquiao from making his first professional fight in about four years. And during a conversation with Jad El Reda of the Los Angeles Times for a June 20 article, Pacquiao sent a clear message about any concerns people have about him facing Barrios.

“I appreciate that they are concerned, however, the only people I worry about is my family,” Pacquiao said. “How I move, how I train, what kind of condition I’m in, they support me because they can still see the old Manny Pacquiao.”

It's interesting to hear Pacquiao saying that the opinions of his family are the only ones that matter to him, especially because his son Jimuel admitted his concern about his dad fighting when speaking with FightHype on May 18.

"I mean, it makes sense," Jimuel said about people having concerns about his father fighting against Barrios. "He's 46 now. And even me, as his son, I love him, he's my dad. There's also concern there, you know?

"But I believe in him. He has shown us that he stays in shape year-around and all that. So weight is not gonna be a problem, fitness is not gonna be a problem," he added.

Regardless of what anyone thinks, the bottom line is that Pacquiao has made his decision to fight, and there's no going back from that. All boxing fans can do is hope that the "Pac Man" leaves the ring on July 19 unscathed.

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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.