Let him stay here. What age did you retire at? Couldn’t be the same. Huh? What were you thinking? He said, “I’m coming back, buddy. I’m coming back.” What’s up, bro?
Good to see you, brother. Good to see you. Good to see you. You got four weeks. Man, welcome back to another episode of the Art Award. Today my guest is a eight division world champion. He’s a newly crowned Hall of Famer. He’s a living legend. He’s an icon. He’s a national hero.
This man is fighting for the WBC welterweight championship July 19th after a 4-year hiatus. I want to welcome to the show Manny Pac-Man Pacquiao. Hello, Andre. How are you, brother? It’s a It’s an honor and a privilege to be here with you, man. Thank you for opening up the gym. This is my first time at Wildcard Gym. Really? Never seen it.
I mean, I’ve only seen it, never been here. And you guys are downstairs now, so you probably will hear speed bags. You’ll hear the heavy bags being hit. That’s okay. That just means we’re in the element. It’s fight time, man. You 46, you fought 72 bouts and you fought 498 professional rounds. How are How are you still going? I’m still um like it and love it.
like uh when I uh rest for 4 years like I I really miss boxing like I miss those memories like you know when we do training hard training training camp like this and discipline like that and fight promote the fight like that interview the media it’s like does it feel good to get the team back together? Oh I feel good and happy together.
So, I was talking to your team when you were training. I said, “Did you believe Manny when he called you and said that he was coming back?” Everybody said, “No.” They said, “I didn’t believe it.” And then when we got here back to Wild Card, then we knew that it was real. What made you pick up the phone and and start to make this fight with Mario Barios after four years? I mean, because obviously you have a lot going on, you know? Uh I realized that um when I turn uh back from boxing like when I hung up my gloves like I’m so lonely
because you know I I miss the the sport I love since when I was young and after but it’s good good for me because when I rest uh 4 years like my my my body is still uh okay and then and then I keep on even though I hung up my class, but I always uh work out playing basketball. You do still? Yeah, work out playing basketball gym and badminton like that.
So, cuz my my house is I have a my own gym. So, I can work out basketball like that. Like that. What did Freddy Roach say when you called him and said, “Freddy, we’re going to fight again.” What did he say to you? Remember? Yeah. He’s he’s happy. He’s just observing me and then saw my speed, my my movement like that still there.
Uh the fire, my eyes to to work out to discipline like that. And I’m still enjoying training like nothing’s changed about, you know, I don’t get lazy for in terms of uh sacrifices training every morning, every day like that. But I’m enjoying it like before. It’s amazing watching you today. just the hunger, the speed, and just going through your workout because Manny I was done. 33. I said goodbye to the game.
You 46. Yeah. You know, that’s that’s uh that’s the the evidence of your you being a passionate with the sports like um it’s a it’s a like part of your life, a boxer, like to fight. and I grow in in boxing as long as I’m still enjoying the the training. Mhm. I I’m I’m happy continuing my career. Mhm.
How did you and the team come up with the fight with Mario Barios? How did you pick him? How did he become your next opponent? When I asked my wife, he said, “Yeah, you can you can fight him.” Jingi. Zingi. Yeah. My wife, she said, “Okay.” Oh, yeah. I I She said, “Okay.” Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Are you sure? Yeah. Okay. I called them.
Then I called the the commission. So the the real boss gave you the gave you the green light. Jeny, he said it’s good. It’s okay. Yeah. My family. Yeah. You think she misses the game? I think so. But because he saw me like when I do training, my speed, my my my passion is still there. She knows that. um when I work out like what do you think like the biggest change is right now at 46 versus when you were younger? Oh uh the biggest uh changes that we have in training camp is like you know uh we listen to the body like that you know sometimes our mind is
like push push push go go go go go go go go but the times there is a a time that the body oh I need rest I need recover so the recovery um that’s a the question so I have to feel my body to give uh recovery to give time to recover if I can push more then I I will push but if my body is saying oh no you have to give me time to recover then I give time to recover what up fight fam it’s your boy A and you know we always have some great fights coming your way and we had to team up with our guys at DraftKings and
it’s Manny Pacquiao versus Mario Barios Rock people are talking and there are some folks out there that feel that Manny Pacquiao could defy the rules of father time and beat the young Marios barios. I’m not sure I’m buying into it. Who cares if he can beat Mario Barios? The the question first is does he deserve the shot? Now, we could look at his long resume and say, “Oh man, he’s accomplished more than everybody else in boxing. He is a GOAT.
You know, he is a Hall of Famer first ballot. We understand that. He’s done so much in the sport, but for four years he sat out, got better, his body’s feeling great, but other guys have been competing and maybe they deserve the spot before the legend Manny Pacquiao. So, that’s something we have to question first, maybe.
But what he has accomplished and what he has given to the sport has bought him that opportunity. Okay, he’s grandfathered in and we’re going to see um how he does against a young body. I think this is young man’s sport. I’m not sure he gets past bodys. Who knows? And plus, we also got to judge it by his last performance.
His last performance, he didn’t have his legs against Ugos like he normally does. But Pacquiao with legs should give Barios a prop. This is going to be a fight you don’t want to miss. I promise you that. So, go see what DraftKings has to offer. Make sure you use the promo code ATS fights. The crown is yours. Go check out all that DraftKings has to offer via the app or the website.
and join in on the fun right now. What you waiting for? Go ahead. You’re moving too slow. Download the DraftKings app now. New customers, make sure you use the promo code ATS fights. Level up your fight night experience. I want to take it back a little bit, you know, because your story is is like very inspiring for a lot of people because there’s poverty all over the world, but you didn’t grow up in in in normal average poverty.
You grew up in extreme poverty. It’s a, you know, well documented. You grew up in a shack. I think you had you were one of six six siblings. Yeah, one of six. Um, you said something though. You said every fight, every victory was a step further away from poverty. Yes. How much does that motivate you throughout your career knowing where you came from? Oh, all my fights, all my trainings is a motivated me is give me motivation for to to uh overcome and win the fight because uh where we come from that’s my inspiration.
Yeah. And good thing for me because uh when I became a champion, when I became a uh um uh known as a boxer, I earned of course uh uh financial uh aspect like you know uh I can help I help my family, my my my my own family, my brother, my sister, everything like that. And I help other people also. I share my my blessings that I have uh that the the Lord gave it to me.
What have you learned over the years like with the balance of giving? Cuz you know, I’ve seen you pass out money and you’re always serving other people, but giving people money and and giving people cars and maybe houses like where’s the balance between giving and then saying, “Okay, I can’t give that much.
” I I always believe that when you give, you will receive. I mean, uh I’m happy doing that, helping other people because I’ve been there. The situation, the feeling of being nothing. Yes. Sometimes you eat, sometimes none. Like I just drink water to survive. Oh, it’s really hard. I can see and I can feel those um less fortunate families that around in the streets.
That’s what I’m doing. Like giving shelter, make a subdivision houses and giving them pray. Uh and then also giving them c uh um um money to start a business, small business like uh you know to earn money like for daily needs. You think most people appreciate when you give them things or does it matter? You just do your part? I’m doing that not to please people.
I’m I’m not trying to please people, but I’m I’m trying to please God. That’s right. Because at the end of the day, you are just passing by. We we came to this world naked and we will depart naked alone. So we we must remember that because even you are the richest man in the world or you became you are a most popular person in the world but when you die you take nothing.
You can’t take nothing. Can’t take nothing. But the only thing that we can leave in this world is the legacy that you made. For example, I’m just giving example. Okay. Uh 50 years, 100 years from now, I’m money pack is not is not existing in this world anymore. 100 years from now, that pretty sure. Okay.
But those legacies that the subdivision, the housing that I’m giving to the less fortunate families, to the people, they will not forget me. they will still remember the manipo and that’s the inspiration to the next generation and at the end of the day I want I want to hear from the lord to say to me well done good and faithful servant come enter to my paradise that’s right you know that’s right cuz uh that’s what I want to uh to hear from the Lord that’s right man that’s powerful man I think that’s a a huge reason why you
have been so blessed you know because you you are a giver. And when you do that, to your point, God always make sure you have what you need. You know, if you take care of his business, he’ll take care of yours. Yes, that’s right. I remember the story about you being 12 years old, you know, and doing the street fighting in General Santos City for for for low money, just a few pesos.
Like, what do you remember from that time? that you know I I I I was remember that time like when I was I was uh almost 12 years old that time and there is a a boxing match every Sunday in our in the streets. No um yeah in the park in the park. In the park which is a program of the government.
So uh Sunday boxing like Sunday boxing. So when I heard that there is a prize money. So there’s a prize money. The prize money. You know how much the prize money like when you lost $1 and when you win like $2. Oh. So So that’s the prize money. So like 12 years old participating in the event like okay we will what we going to do? What are we going to do? Like they put the gloves like I don’t know what is boxing at all like I don’t have an idea just they said no kicking but just just too imp like the like oh just too imp like that I don’t have idea about boxing
I just want to earn money so that when I go home back to my mom I have money to buy food so I participate and I won I got $2. So, but you know, but the the that’s 100 pesos in in in the Philippines before. So, that’s big cuz one per kilo of rice is you can buy 620 pesos per kilo and that’s 100 pesos. So, you can buy more more kilos of of rice, right? So, it’s good good.
I mean, I I’m just enjoying that. But I don’t have idea what is boxing. just just participate there like that every every Sunday and I’m I’m still winning. I’m still winning like that. And they they uh my uncle knows about boxing. They teach me how to what is boxing like that. And um I have a lot of uh beaches before bes tape right tape the the when you watch the boxing match bes.
So I have a lot of BHS uh tape with my uncle the the fight with uh Larry Holm, George Porman, Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson. Um and uh what else? Muhammad Ali Sugar Leonard, Julio Chavez, and I I watch De Laoya’s fight career from Olympics to to professional like doing like that. And I I watch like Obakar, uh, Pis, Ricardo Lopez, all the great.
