By REYNALD MAGALLON
Manny Pacquiao is set to make his ring return on Jan. 24 against a yet to be determined opponent, the Filipino boxing icon announced on Wednesday, Oct. 8.
“Hello to all my boxing fans. I’m excited to let you know I will be returning to the ring January 24 in Las Vegas,” said Pacquiao in a video posted on social media.
“It is going to be an exciting and special event. Stay tuned. More news to come on my opponent in the next few days,“ he added.
Pacquiao, who sports a 62-8-3, with 39 knockouts, will be 47-years-old by the time of the fight.
There are no details yet on his possible opponent but boxing experts and pundits believed that Pacquiao is set to challenge current World Boxing Association champion Rolly Romero for the world welterweight championship.
In a media availability during the countdown event of the Thrilla in Manila 2 over a week ago, Pacquiao said that his team is still in talks with the camp of the WBA champion.
“We are still negotiating and finalizing it,“ said Pacquiao.
Romero is boasting a 17-2 record with 13 knockouts including his last bout – a unanimous decision win over Ryan Garcia.
Should pushes through, Pacquiao will get another chance in resetting his record as the oldest welterweight champion which he achieved in 2019 after defeating Keith Thurman at the age of 40-years-old.
Pacquiao almost broke his own record when he made his ring return after four years of inactivity against Mario Barrios last July. The 46-year-old boxing great settled for a majority decision draw against the 30-year-old Barrios.
