Manny Pacquiao expressed his excitement regarding his return to boxing at Friday’s weigh-in ahead of his upcoming fight with Mario Barrios on Saturday night.
“First of all, I’m so happy because I’m back,” Pacquiao said, via Jed Meshew of MMAFighting.com. “I’m back because boxing is my passion. I missed boxing.”
Both Pacquiao and Barrios made weight on Friday at 146.8 pounds and 146.2 pounds, respectively.
The fight will have Barrios’ WBC welterweight title on the line, marking Pacquiao’s first professional bout since he retired in 2021 following a defeat against Yordenis Ugas.
“Those four years that I retired, I really missed boxing,” Pacquiao said Friday, per Meshew. “It was good for my body because I was able to give my body a rest for four years. … Now I’m back. I’m excited for the fight. I’m really hungry to win again, and give the fans a good fight. I know the fans are waiting for a good fight. I know Barrios is working hard. That’s our job, to entertain the crowd, to give you a good fight, and to satisfy on Saturday night.”
Pacquiao made appearances at exhibition boxing matches during his time away from professional sport until he eventually announced his decision to come out of retirement in May.
The 46-year-old owns a 62-8-2 record with 39 knockouts as a professional and is the only eight-division world champion in the history of boxing.
The age gap between Pacquiao and the 30-year-old Barrios is large, adding even more intrigue to the fight.
Barrios holds a career record of 29-2-1 with 18 knockouts. His most recent fight occurred against Abel Ramos in Nov. 2024, as he was able to retain his WBC welterweight title with a draw.
Ring walks for Saturday’s main event between Pacquiao and Barrios are expected to occur at 11 p.m. ET.
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