Connect with us

Boxing

Return of Pacquiao: Legacy Risk for boxing legend, WBC Sanction is questioned

Published

on

Image: Manny Pacquiao's Comeback: 46-Year-Old Legend to Challenge Mario Barrios for WBC Welterweight Title, Igniting Meritocracy Debate

The news spread that Manny Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KO) will fight Mario Barrios (29-2-1, 18 KO) at the Barrios welterweight belt. Many commentators are nervous, because in addition to his current age, Pacquiao is approaching four years of idleness, since losing to Yordenis Ugas in 2021. One of the overarching narratives was that Pacquiao jumps in a queue, apart from younger, more dynamic warriors who fought for a shot in the title.

Although a bit true, it is challenging to argue that manny, thanks to his achievements, did not deserve the right to challenge the title at his own request. In the first years he served sport honorably, providing thrilling, full of fighting and bringing fans from around the world to boxing. Pacquiao was a walking roller in front of Saudi money, dazem or fixation on undefeated records. It has been proven that he was able to postpone time for his father time and always fought the best as he could in every fight, sometimes thrown in pursuit of the opponent.

Risk Return Pacquiao

The second, more vital argument is that Pacquiao risks its health by fighting at an advanced age of 46. In his youth, Pacquiao had enough strength to avoid caught pure blows in a full fight for the championship. Using a mixture of leg work to rush and leave and a solid guard, he pulled a shock from many shots. He would also return the fire in the middle of a combination of opponents. In his recent fights with Thurman and Ugas, Pacquiao’s head was repeatedly withdrawn because of his inability to predict shots, tiring his legs and the lack of distance between themselves and the opponent. As a cultural phenomenon, it would be a shame to see how Pacquiao maintains constant damage when his career finally ends, if he did not yet. As a legend of boxing, it would be another example of what happens when the warrior exaggerates with greeting. Time will tell what impact his many wars had on his brain, but it seems that in his best interest it would be to suspend gloves and enjoy the fruits of his delivery.

It is intriguing that WBC sanction this fight and defends his decision. Over the years, Mauricio Sulaiman has opposed women fighting with three rounds and twelve rounds of struggle for the championship because they can risk constant brain injury, which is a risk that every boxer takes when they enter the ring. A fight in which one warrior is approaching 50, while the other is still at their best level, seems to be a more dramatic risk of security than two women with similar competing skills. Prohibiting women taking the most basic risk in boxing (knocking), while enabling freakshow sanctions in such a way that your organization sends a clear message. Sulaiman stands on the road the size of women.

Barrios: Weaker master?

It is true that Barrios is the least hazardous champion at 147 pounds, but Pacquiao still takes a great risk, depending on his worn battle, a 46-year-old body to lead him to victory. While Pacquiao will still have strangely bulky hands, the decisive factor will be the strength of the section. Barrios is not power, but if he manages to survive the early stages of the fight, he may be able to win a victory over the aging legend.

The purpose of this fight is to handle the Pacquiao heritage. He is addressed to the perceived weakest master in his weight class and hopes that he will make history, taking his record of being the oldest welterweight champion. But at the age of 46, how much does he still offer?

We will undoubtedly see the flashes of Pac-Man when the night-kill of strokes with awkward angles comes. The show of his will, which was broken only once, made him unconscious. It will be kind in victory or failure. But when the events of the evening are prescribed in countless articles on the internet, they will be far from the stories told during his years of killing monsters and giants, casting impossible combinations and confirming that the heroes are not promotion products, but are created by the circumstances they endure, and the stories we talk about them.

Last updated 21.05.2025

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Boxing

Davies vs Collins & Heaney vs Warburton II Results: Full Fight Recap

Published

on

"Davies vs Collins & Heaney vs Warburton II Results: Full Fight Recap"

World Boxing News provides results and updates as Liam Davies faces Nathaniel Collins in the main event at bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham.

Davies and Collins collide over 12 rounds for the EBU European featherweight title at the top of the Queensberry Promotions card.

Luke McCormack faces Kay Prospere for the vacant British super lightweight title, while Bradley Goldsmith takes on Amir Abubaker for the IBF International middleweight title.

WBN provides results and updates from every bout as they happen.


Results

All times are local BST.

23:11

Gerome Warburton defeated Nathan Heaney for the second time running as the middleweight put an exclamation mark on his first victory.

Heaney walks away from the sport having been an entertainer through a long carer, without reaching the heights of a world title.

22:04

Liam Davies improved to 19-1 after Nathaniel Collins retired at the end of the seventh round due to a cut over his right eye. Collins had also been dropped in the opening round as Davies successfully defended the European featherweight title.

21:22

Bradley Goldsmith improved to 17-1 with a seventh-round stoppage of Amir Abubaker to retain his IBF International middleweight title. Abubaker went down in the fourth and three times in the seventh before the finish at 2:42.

20:10

Lewis Richardson improved to 3-0 with a shutout six-round points victory over Ivan Trofimovich, earning a 60-54 decision.

19:56

Luke McCormack moved to 6-0 and claimed the vacant British super lightweight title with a tenth-round knockout of Kay Prospere, who was counted out after a right uppercut at 1:28.

18:55

Michael Hussain moved to 5-0 with a four-round points victory over Nabil Ahmed, earning a 39-38 decision.

18:11

Nelson Birchall moved to 12-0 with a third-round stoppage of Lewis Morris, who went down before the finish came at 1:12. Lasha Guruli also remained unbeaten at 5-0 after edging Hughie Wilson 77-75 over eight rounds.

17:22

Early action saw John Tom Varey and Reese Lynch claim four-round victories to move to 3-0 and 5-0 respectively.


TV Coverage

DAZN provides full worldwide coverage.

Follow WBN’s live boxing coverage throughout the event.


About the Author

Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.

Read Phil Jay’s full bio and latest stories.

Continue Reading

Boxing

Janibek Alimkhanuly Shifts Perspective on Hamzah Sheeraz: A New Dynamic in Boxing

Published

on

"Janibek Alimkhanuly Shifts Perspective on Hamzah Sheeraz: A New Dynamic in Boxing"

Janibek Alimkhanuly spent months trying to get Hamzah Sheeraz into the ring. Now that Sheeraz has vacated his WBO super middleweight title, Janibek is asking fans to stop saying the former champion ran from him. That is generous. It also leaves Janibek with less to say about a fight he wanted badly.

Janibek’s tone has changed since the purse bid. He was eager to fight, said money was not his priority, and publicly pushed Sheeraz to accept. Queensberry then bid $1,001,809 to stage the ordered defense, beating Top Rank’s $820,000 offer. Sheeraz’s 75 percent share would have been roughly $751,000. Days later, he gave up the belt.

That sequence deserves a closer look. Queensberry put a serious number on the fight, so the bid itself cannot be dismissed as proof that nobody valued it. But winning the right to promote a title defense means little to fans when the champion vacates before it happens.

Sheeraz has objected to Janibek receiving a mandatory shot after his failed drug test. He is entitled to explain that position. Fans are equally entitled to ask why the issue reached a purse bid before he surrendered the title. Janibek’s post supplies no answer.

Perhaps Janibek sees no benefit in branding Sheeraz a coward. Doing so would also make the opponent he chased sound less valuable. Calling Sheeraz a great fighter preserves the idea that this was an important contest, even after the belt and the fight slipped away.

The respect between them may be sincere. Janibek still gets no Sheeraz fight, and Sheeraz no longer has to defend his title against Janibek. A friendly photo does not change either result.

Share this article

About the author

Boxing 24/7 Wire

Boxing247.com is an independent boxing news publication covering the sport since 2001. It provides original reporting, fight analysis, schedules, results, and informed coverage of major fighters and events worldwide, backed by more than 25 years of professional boxing journalism.

Continue Reading

Boxing

Virginia Confirms Decision to Erase Prichard Colón Loss from Records

Published

on

Virginia Confirms Decision to Erase Prichard Colón Loss from Records

Virginia has given World Boxing News its final answer on whether Prichard Colón’s last professional defeat can still be challenged, bringing an end to WBN’s long fight to have the result annulled and removed from his record.

WBN has pursued the possibility of changing the controversial disqualification defeat to Terrel Williams, with those efforts continuing following Colón’s death at age 33.

Virginia’s Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation previously explained that a decision can only be overturned if there is proven collusion, a scorecard error, or a regulatory violation that affected the result.

WBN pressed Eric Beidel, Communications & Digital Media Manager for the Department of Professional & Occupational Regulation, on whether any avenue remained to challenge the decision.

“And on that final question … as mentioned before, a decision can only be overturned if there is proven collusion, a scorecard error, or a regulatory violation that affected the results,” Beidel graciously responded after providing WBN with transparent answers throughout the investigation.

“In addition, a complaint about a regulatory violation must be filed within three years of the alleged violation.”

The Colón-Williams fight took place on October 17, 2015, meaning that deadline expired years ago.

Virginia Closes Appeal Route

Virginia’s response also addressed whether the result could instead be challenged through an appeal.

“The Administrative Process Act (APA) does create appeal rights to case decisions, but because DPOR never received a complaint in this instance, there was no case or decision that could be appealed under the APA.”

The deadline for filing a complaint about a regulatory violation has expired, while the absence of an original complaint means there is no case decision available to appeal under the APA.

For WBN, Virginia’s response ends a long fight to have the defeat annulled and removed from Colón’s professional record.

Premier Boxing Champions | PBC on NBC

WBN’s Fight for Prichard Colón

It is no secret that WBN and Prichard were close before the most tragic night of his career ended all contact and left us on the outside for the years leading up to his death.

That never stopped WBN from reporting on Prichard, campaigning for change and hoping lessons from what happened to him could help prevent another fighter and family from enduring the same tragedy.

Virginia’s final response may end WBN’s attempts to have the result changed, but it does not end our commitment to Prichard.

Prichard Colón will not be forgotten.

WBN will continue to keep his name alive whenever and wherever possible with the WBN Boxer Pageand push to ensure his fight for life and everything that happened in its aftermath are never allowed to simply disappear from boxing’s memory.

This investigation ends here, but Prichard’s story does not.


About the Author

Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.

Read Phil Jay’s full bio and latest stories.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe Us To Receive Our Latest News Directly In Your Inbox!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Trending