Manny Pacquiao takes on Mario Barrios on July 19th for the WBC welterweight title in news that has shook the entire sport of boxing lately.
Pacquiao will attempt to become the second oldest champion in boxing history with him as a massive underdog in the fight.
Speaking to Talk Sport earlier, Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton said:
“It’s boxing today, isn’t it? If you can let a 58-year-old Mike Tyson fight Jake Paul, Manny Pacquiao coming back at 46 doesn’t look too bad. But Tyson was fighting Jake Paul; Manny’s fighting for a world title. How’s he getting a world title shot after being retired for six years? He’s relying on past successes to walk straight into a title fight. How is that possible? When he retired, he should’ve been dropped from the rankings. Now he’s making a comeback, and they’ve placed him fifth in the world rankings. How can a comeback fighter be in the top 10 after years away? He was a hell of a fighter back then, but we don’t know what he’s like now. You’d think he’d have a couple of warm-up fights first. But in boxing these days, money is everything.”
He’s right.
So many famous boxers are looking to come back now as boxing is so popular around the world again, but this is just the beginning of great times for the sport, alas.