A little bird told me a few days ago that it is almost certain that Manny Pacquiao is staging a comeback next year.
If you’re a hardcore boxing fan and haven’t been living under a rock the couple of months, you should know what I am talking about.
You see, Pacquiao is scheduled to appear in a special exhibition fight on 11 December in Korea against mix-martial arts expert DK Yoo.
It’s not going to be fought using standard boxing rules.
The fight is set at six rounds but each round will be just two minutes.
However, it doesn’t seem like Pacquiao, who turns 44 on 17 December, is treating it like an exhibition.
He has recalled his training team in General Santos City to get himself in shape.
Why is that, you may ask?
It’s just an exhibition and all you gotta do is exercise a bit and you’ll get the job done.
Right?
Wrong.
Since he hasn’t fought since losing to Yordenis Ugas in Las Vegas almost 16 months ago, Pacquiao needs to whip himself into form.
Besides, Pacquiao isn’t facing somebody his size.
By the time he and Yoo answer the bell, the ambitious Korean, who has a tremendous following on YouTube, will outweigh him by a ton.
One Los Angeles-based fellow who regularly joins his training camp insists looking past Yoo is not a good idea.
You gotta keep yourself in some sort of shape even for these so-called exhibitions.
But Pacquiao appears to be overdoing it.
He does morning roadwork and reports for gym sessions in the afternoon.
I bet you can see the handwriting on the wall.
If everything falls into place during the Yoo fight next month, and Pacquiao raves about his experience, don’t be surprised if Pacquiao makes an announcement.
Remember, Pacquiao often uttered these words: Boxing is my passion.
It looks like that hasn’t changed.
