Manny Pacquiao Aiming To Win Olympic Gold For Philippines In Sensational Ring Return

Written by Kristan Caryl on 30th August 2023.

Manny Pacquiao just about accomplished it all in the professional ring, and has since retired to focus on politics in his homeland of the Philippines.

This week it has been revealed that the fighting legend has now expressed an interest in taking a shot at gold in the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Now 44 years old, ‘PacMan’ is a former eight-division world champion and the only man in history to have that accolade. He won the lineal championship in no fewer than five different divisions and held world titles across four separate decades from the 1990s through to the 2020s.

His marquee fight was 2015’s long overdue showdown with Floyd Mayweather and, though he lost that one on points, he came back to defeat young rising stars like Keith Thurman.

That victory made him the oldest welterweight world champion ever at 40 and contributed to an estimated total generated revenue across his career of $1.2 billion.

According to Sports Inquirer, Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham ‘Bambol’ Tolentino has said Pacquiao has one last boxing goal in mind, but his age puts him outside the upper limit of 40 for qualification in all sports.

“Senator Pacquiao’s camp reached out saying our Filipino ring idol wants to fight in Paris, but the Senator can no longer vie for qualification in the Asian Games in Hangzhou next month.”

As such, it has been reported that the local Olympic body is now discussing with the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines and the International Olympic Committee how Pacquiao might earn a space at the games.

“Another course of action is to help Pacquiao secure an Olympic spot under the Universality rule from the IOC. Only nine Universality places—five for women and four for men—are available in Paris.”

Apparently, Pacquiao currently weighs 66 kilograms and could be accommodated by the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines which would guide him through the qualification process.

Earlier this summer, Pacquiao stated he wanted one more ‘proper fight.’ As unlikely as this seems at this stage, the boxing legend has already defied the odds many times over.