Former eight-division world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao will return to the boxing ring to face RIZIN featherweight champion Chihiro Suzuki.
During last night's broadcast of RIZIN 47, it was announced that the 45-year-old Pacquiao will compete in Super RIZIN 3 on July 28. He will face the 25-year-old Suzuki, who currently holds the 145-pound RIZIN title and has wins over the likes of Patricio Pitbull.
Manny Pacquiao retired from competition after losing by decision to Yordenis Ugas in August 2021.
“It's hard to accept that my time as a boxer is over,” Manny Pacquiao said in his retirement announcement video in September 2021. “Goodbye, boxing… Thank you for changing my life at a time when my family was in despair. You gave us hope. You gave us a chance to fight to get out of poverty. Because of you, I was able to inspire people all over the world. Because of you, I have the courage to change more lives.”
Since his retirement, there have been constant rumors of “Pac-Man” returning to the ring to face the likes of Conor Benn, and it's clear that Pacquiao deeply misses boxing and what it gave him.
He also earns enough money to never have to work again and holds a position as a senator in his native Philippines. For many, fighting is a lifestyle and leaving it can be a very difficult process and lead some to search for an identity outside of fighting.
While many fighters return after they've reached their prime, Pacquiao should be able to beat Suzuki because of his age. Pacquiao fought the best fighters into his early 40s and became the oldest welterweight champion in history when he defeated Keith Thurman in 2019, a title he held until his bout with Ugas.
Will you watch Manny Pacquiao's next boxing match?
