Former eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao, 44-years-old, returned to the ring on Sunday in an exhibition match on the KINTEX enviornment in Goyang, which is close to Seoul, Korea.
It was Pacquiao’s first in-ring struggle since retiring final yr within the aftermath of his twelve spherical choice loss to Yordenis Ugas.
As soon as retiring from the game, the Filipino star had labored very laborious in his marketing campaign to develop into the President of the Philippines, however finally failed.
Pacquiao took the exhibition with South Korean YouTuber DK Yoo to boost cash for Ukraine of their ongoing battle with Russia, and likewise to supply funds for homeless Filipinos.
In the course of the struggle, he principally toyed with Yoo in a contest that consisted of six two-minute rounds.
Yoo, who’s regarded in South Korea as a talented in martial artist, had a giant dimension benefit that proved nugatory within the struggle.
Pacquiao simply claimed a unanimous choice, as Yoo was very drained after just a few rounds. Yoo was knocked down a number of instances, however for no matter purpose the referee disregarded a number of of the knockdowns and tabbed them as slips.
Within the last two rounds, it appeared Pacquiao was beginning to take the struggle extra severely and was making an attempt to knock Yoo out. The Korean star barely survived the onslaught. It appeared as if the referee had given him each potential opening to outlive till the ultimate bell.
After the struggle, Pacquiao left the door open with respect to an precise comeback in 2023, by telling a ringside reporter – “You will see” – with respect to a hoop return.
“[The fight with Yoo was a] excellent stepping stone to come back again. This can be a nice alternative to come back again within the ring. I believed it was simple to retire… I actually missed boxing. I felt lonely once I retired from boxing,” Pacquiao mentioned.