Leading into his welterweight title fight against Mario Barrios, Manny Pacquiao sits down with Marcos Villegas of Fight Hub TV to talk about his return, where he’s at physically, and shares some thoughts on the upcoming Canelo vs Crawford fight. Check out some excerpts below.
On the moment he knew he wanted to return to boxing
“When I announce my retirement 2021, like four years ago, I feel so bad. I still have in my heart, in my mind I can fight, I can work hard, I can still dedicate myself in training but I don’t regret that because I announce my retirement in 2021 because it’s good for my body to rest for a couple of years and then come back.”
On the most difficult part returning after being out of the sport for years
“The hardest part is like burning the fat in your body. I’m always wearing like sauna suit in jogging, training, to burn all the fats because fats can make you slow.
“I feel fast, the strength is still there, I can still move.”
On how much longer he thinks he can continue fighting
“Right now I can still do what I’m doing before…In fact my team trying to slow me down because sometimes too much. They told me that ‘you need to give your body rest, relax, not too much.’
“It’s hard to say I can have two fights, three fights, like that. One at a time. I always ask from the lord strength, protection, guidance, good health everyday.”
On Canelo vs Crawford
“That’s not easy for Crawford. Canelo is big advantage but Crawford needs to manage well his body, his speed, and his power because he’s moving up to another level of weight.”
On what advice he would give Crawford
“Preparing [for] opponents like that, it’s not only the speed but the techniques that you can use in the fight. Like make sure in your daily routine, training routine, make sure all the techniques, strategy, combinations is accurate to your opponent’s style.”
