Boxing legend Duke McKenzie urges Manny Pacquiao to quit boxing for his health and legacy

Former world champion Duke McKenzie has shared his honest opinion on Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao’s boxing comeback at the age of 46 and offered advice based on the fighter’s advancing years.

Pacquiao’s highly anticipated return to professional boxing against World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion Mario Barrios ended in a controversial majority draw after 12 rounds, with two judges scoring the bout 114–114 and the third judge giving it 115–113 in favor of Barrios. As a result, Barrios retained his WBC welterweight title and improved his record to 29-2-2 with 18 knockouts, while Pacquiao’s record dropped to 62-8-3.

The 46-year-old was not pleased with the outcome, stating that he believed he had won the bout and immediately called for a rematch.

Duke McKenzie, a former world champion in three different weight divisions, stated that in his view, Barrios deserved the win. He also urged Pacquiao to retire from boxing, expressing concern for the Filipino legend’s long-term health.

“On a personal level, I thought Mario Barrios won the fight. Would I like to see Manny Pacquiao fight again? No, I wouldn’t. ‘Pacman’ is an old man, and he looked like an old man. He is putting his health and legacy at risk for more glory,” McKenzie said in an interview with Betway.

“How many world titles can you win? Manny is the most successful boxer in the history of the sport as an eight-division world champion—it doesn’t get better than that. He’s obviously chasing another world title, but how many titles or how much money do you need? Unless he’s run out of money—which I don’t know—that could be the reason.

“If he’s broke and boxing is all he knows, then he may feel he has to fight again. But that money is no good if you don’t have your health. Boxing has a cruel way of creeping up on you—not now, but maybe 10 or 20 years down the line. All those hard fights could catch up to him.

Former world champion Duke McKenzie has urged Manny Pacquiao to retire from boxing, insisting the legend’s health is at riskhttps://t.co/Wx7IUIu3vc pic.twitter.com/yjfmj3BUxf

— Mirror US Sports (@MirrorUSSports) July 30, 2025

“I hope I’m wrong because I am a Manny Pacquiao fan. I’d love to see him never fight again and just live his life,” McKenzie added.

McKenzie is widely recognized as one of the best boxers to come from the United Kingdom, having held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight title, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight title, and the WBO junior-featherweight title before retiring in 1998.

The 62-year-old praised Pacquiao’s contributions to the sport and said he wouldn’t have wanted to face the Filipino at his peak.

“Manny Pacquiao has to be in the all-time top five pound-for-pound champions. Name me any other boxer who has won world titles in eight different weight classes. I’d have hated to fight Manny Pacquiao. In his prime—especially at lightweight—he was an unbelievably savvy southpaw. He was a nightmare.

“He reminded me of Henry Armstrong. He was a menace. And speaking from experience, fighting a southpaw is one of the hardest styles in the world,” McKenzie concluded.

Now that he has made an impressive return, Pacquiao is eager to face more world champions. Several top fighters are reportedly eyeing a potential bout with the legend—including World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight champion Rolando Romero and WBC interim lightweight champion Ryan Garcia.

It remains to be seen what Pacquiao will do next, as consistently fighting younger world champions will not be an easy path forward.

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