Manny Pacquiao Announces His Return, Targets An Olympic Medal

Manny Pacquiao has confirmed that he will return to boxing at the age of 45 for the 2024 Paris Olympics.  

Pacman is an eight-division champion with nothing left to prove in the sport. However, the Filipino spoke about his desire to fight in the Olympics for a medal. The boxer had ambitions of fighting in the Olympics from a young age, however, his impoverished background meant this was not possible. So, around three decades later, Pacquiao is now intent on making it happen. 

Manny Pacquiao reiterates his desire to represent the Philippines in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

In a press release last month by POC president Bambol Tolentino, the retired eight-division professional boxing champion expressed his interest to fight for the national team. pic.twitter.com/av6gwTXr1g

— One Sports (@OneSportsPHL) September 15, 2023

“[I’m hoping to qualify for the Olympics, and I am] waiting for that. I’m excited for that. From the beginning, I said when I went to Manila that I wanted to join the Philippine team. But I was rejected because they said I didn’t know how [to fight]. So I was forced to turn pro at the age of 16

“That’s the reason for this. From the very beginning, it’s been a dream in my heart to get a gold medal in the Olympics. We’re still talking about the process of the qualifiers if I still have to participate or not. We will have an announcement about it,” Manny

This naturally begs the question: would Pacquiao make a return to professional boxing? Well, Pacman had been linked with a fight against Conor Benn as the latter worked through his legal issues after failing two VADA tests. And prior to this happening, Pacquiao’s last professional fight was a loss against Yordenis Ugas. Despite that being the case, the likelihood of Manny returning is very slim, leaving Pacquiao’s pathway to the Olympics clear.