Pacquiao returns to boxing for charity

FOR A CAUSE Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao (left) and popular Korean YouTuber DK Yoo pose after signing the contract for their exhibition bout slated in December in Seoul, South Korea. The contract signing and press conference was held at the Bonifacio Hall in Shangri-La The Fort in Bonifacio Global City on Wednesday night, July 20, 2022. PHOTO BY J. GERARD SEGUIA

By Niel Victor C. Masoy, Manila Times

FILIPINO boxing legend Manny Pacquiao will fight in the boxing ring once more.

Pacquiao, however, is not fighting because he wants to fill his personal bank account but rather said he is returning to the sport he loves for a "charitable cause."

Aside from raising funds to rehabilitate the devastated areas in Ukraine and help the people affected in the Ukraine-Russia war, the 42-year-old Pacquiao said he is fighting martial artist and Korean YouTuber DK Yoo so he can continue his charitable mission of building houses to homeless Filipinos.

"This exhibition fight is a charitable event to continue my mission of giving houses to our homeless compatriots," said the former senator during the press conference for his exhibition fight against Yoo at the Bonifacio Hall in Shangri-La The Fort in Bonifacio Global City on Wednesday.

"Actually, I have a lot of 'Pacman village' left to be finished so the proceeds of the event will be used to continue our mission to help," added the only 8-division world boxing champion, who retired from professional boxing with a 62-8-2 win-loss-draw record.

The Pacquiao-Yoo exhibition match dubbed as "The Champ and The Master" is set in December in Seoul, South Korea. It will be a six-round bout and each round lasting for two minutes instead of the regular three minutes.

There is no agreed weight limit for the bout.

The 42-year-old Yoo is a popular YouTuber, a master of 15 disciplines of martial arts and the founder of Warfare Combat System.

He said he respects Pacquiao so much that he is facing him first in a series of exhibition matches he has planned for himself.

"Manny Pacquiao is my most respected player. After Manny, I'm taking on other opponents but he's the first," said Yoo.

"I'm not saying that I'm going to win. Actually, I know that I'm not going to win but I will do my best to pull off a surprise against him."