Manny Pacquiao receives legendary boxing advice ahead of ring return

Manny Pacquiao is back. At 46, with his political career on hold in the Philippines and his boxing legend already etched in gold, the Pacman has decided to take on the beast one more time – the way Rocky once described that gnawing urge to test himself again in the ring.

When is Manny Pacquiao back in the ring?

His opponent will be Mario Barrios, the interim World Boxing Council champion, on July 19. But beyond the physical contest, the real fight lies within.

Barrios isn’t the true enemy. The adversary is time, the aging muscle memory, the murmur of critics. And to face that, Pacquiao has received some heartfelt advice from someone who knows the road well: Sugar Ray Leonard.

Leonard understands comebacks. He knows what it feels like when the spotlight dims, when hunger collides with reason. In 1987, he stepped back into the ring after a five-year retirement – against none other than Marvin Hagler, a ferocious force in the ring. He was 30 then, not 46. Still, few are more qualified to speak about boxing – and about coming back.

“When I returned, I didn’t realize I’d been out of the ring for five years,” Leonard told Fight Hub TV. “You have to get used to taking punches. You have to get used to training that hard again. It’s a lot of things – it’s more mental, more psychological than physical.”

And that’s where this story begins. Not with fists, but with the mind. Not with speed, but with the hunger to endure and fight.

Sugar Ray advice for Pacquiao

That’s what Leonard puts on the table – the need for a motivation deeper than nostalgia or ego. Pacquiao isn’t your average fighter. He’s the only man to win world titles in eight different divisions, a phenomenon with 72 professional bouts, 62 victories, 39 by knockout. But no stat can replace inner fire.

“Do I question him? No,” Leonard said. “Maybe he knows how to do it. Maybe he knows what’s right.”

In other words, only Pacquiao can know if he’s truly ready. But he must be sure. He has to remember what made him special. He must be willing not just to throw punches – but to take them.

Because that’s the core of Leonard’s warning. Returning to the ring isn’t like riding a bike. The body forgets. The mind resists. Training hurts more. Reflexes deceive. And the punches – those old companions – don’t land the same anymore. Now they echo.

When asked if it was a good idea for a 46-year-old to fight again, Leonard was blunt: “We don’t think about how absurd it is. We don’t think that way. Most boxers don’t. I wish I had. But no one could change my mind. I was ready to get back in the ring.”

That’s the question Pacquiao must face – beyond legacy, beyond prize money, beyond titles: is he ready to hear that sound again? To take punches without it tearing at his soul? To face the younger, stronger, faster version of himself?

Leonard doesn’t tell him what to do. That’s not his role. But his advice is laced with quiet urgency: if you’re going to come back, don’t do it for past glory – do it for the glory you still want to create.

Pacquiao, in his own words, seems to understand that there is no return without conviction. He hasn’t shown a hint of doubt. But, as Leonard knows too well, it’s only on fight night that the truth reveals itself.

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