Boxing

Oscar De La Hoya Gets Optimistic About Manny Pacquiao Return Fight

Boxing icon Oscar De La Hoya was positive when speaking about Manny Pacquiao's chances against Mario Barrios.
Grant Young|
IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Manny Pacquiao will officially be going toe to toe with reigning WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios on July 19 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This means that the 46-year-old will have gone 1,428 days between his last professional fight against Yordenis Ugas in 2021 and this upcoming match against Barrios. It will also have been 2,221 days since his last victory in a professional bout.

There's a lot of concern about Pacquiao coming out of retirement, given his advanced age and how dangerous a boxer Mario Barrios is. And one of Pacquiao's opponents, the legendary Oscar De La Hoya (the two fought on December 6, 2008, with Pacquiao winning by technical knockout), has conveyed his own concern about Pacquiao's return to the ring.

“I wish him all the best," De La Hoya said, per a May 12 interview with Seconds Out. "Obviously the truth is the truth, he’s obviously not the same Pacquiao that fought me, that fought the greats. I wish him the best, be careful up there, he’s not young like he used to be. But I’m sure he still has that power, so anything can happen.

"But yeah, just be careful," he added.

However, De La Hoya switched his stance up some during the most recent time he was asked about Pacquiao's return, which came during a May 21 interview with FightHub TV.

"I wish him all the best," De La Hoya initially said. When he was then asked whether he believes Pacquiao can pull off a victory, he added, "Can he do it? Absolutely. Manny Pacquiao is a legend. I think he can do it, absolutely. I mean, it's not gonna be easy. But I think he can do it. Yeah."

Perhaps Pacquiao's fan base can take solace in this optimism shown by De La Hoya if they're also worried about how "Pac-Man" will fare against Barrios in July.

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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.