Teddy Atlas like many in boxing has been taken back a little by boxing legend Manny Pacquiao coming back at 46 years of age shortly.
He will fight for the world title on July 19th against WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios.
Speaking on his show ‘The Fight with Teddy Atlas’ — Atlas said:
“I want to discuss some boxing news, starting with Manny Pacquiao’s return. Manny Pacquiao, now 46 years old, has announced he’ll be back in the ring in July to face WBC interim welterweight champion Mario Barrios. At 46, Pacquiao hasn’t been completely inactive—his last professional fight was over four years ago against the Cuban Yordenis Ugas, which was a tough one. He’s also had recent exhibition matches, the most recent in July, where he took significant punishment. I know it was an exhibition, but it was a grueling match, and I thought after that I wouldn’t want to see Manny fight again. For whatever reasons, Manny Pacquiao is coming back.”
He went on, saying:
“That said, many people are criticizing the fight—not so much because of Manny’s age, but because he’s skipping the line. He’s going straight into the top five of the WBC and fighting for the title. Eddie Hearn, Juan Manuel Marquez, and others have voiced their displeasure with this. In response, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has defended the decision, standing by it. He said, “My father received a lot of criticism when Ray Leonard was going to come back and fight Marvin Hagler.” What do you think of Pacquiao’s comeback and the WBC’s decision overall?”
On the decision to let Pacquiao skip the line, as in Atlas’ correct view, some people rightly get to skip the line in life, people like Pacquiao who is an eight-division champion:
“Sulaiman is the head, following in his father’s footsteps, and he’s kept the organization in a powerful position, so you have to give him credit for that. Like him or hate him, he’s a businessman. He’s gone to Saudi Arabia like everyone else, keeping himself and his organization relevant. He’s doing what a president of a company has to do—his job. But people have a right to question his reasons. I’d appreciate it if more people would just cut to the chase and be straightforward, rather than using Leonard as an example. That’s fair, but just go straight to The Godfather and say, “It’s business, baby, it ain’t personal.” Because if we get past all the nonsense, it’s business.”
He clarified further:
“Sulaiman has the right to make that call. He’s thinking on his feet, bringing up history. With Leonard and Hagler, there were concerns—Leonard had been inactive, he was moving up in weight, though he had fought at light heavyweight before dropping back to middleweight. It wasn’t like Leonard hadn’t tested heavier weights, but he had been inactive, and he was fighting the great Marvin Hagler later in Hagler’s career. That was a tough fight—Hagler had just come off the Mugabi fight, which I always thought took something out of him. Don’t get me wrong, I love Ray Leonard. He’s one of my favorite people and fighters in the world. He could fit into any era, and I have him listed among my greatest, even in the 1700s, as some of you wise guys say, though I don’t know any fighters from that far back.”
On comparing the whole comeback to that of Sugar Ray Leonard, Atlas noted:
“So, using that comparison—how old was Leonard then? Leonard was only 32 when he fought Hagler. He’d been inactive, but he was 32. Pacquiao is 46, so it’s not a good comparison. It sounds good—Leonard came back, won a very close, controversial, but great fight. Leonard was great, no doubt. You could say he earned the right to cut the line, and you could argue Pacquiao, with all his greatness, has earned the right to cut the line too. I see it all the time. The other day, I was at a benefit where the foundation was being honored by St. Phillips Church, a 155-year-old church that does great work in the community. I didn’t expect to talk about this—they gave us an award for helping the community. We don’t need an award; we’re privileged to help, but people feel inclined to do that, which is nice.”
Quite comprehensive from Atlas as usual, always insightful that not many pick up on either.
Pacquiao is back with Freddie Roach for this fight too, don’t forget that.
That is a big factor.
Unlike Anpo as well this will not be a surprise last minute change of opponent – Pacquiao has known about Barrios for a long time now.