Manny Pacquiao and DK Yoo faced off in Seoul yesterday. The two men will go head to head on December 11th in an exhibition boxing match and the Korean will clearly have a size advantage.
But Pacquiao will have an even greater advantage when it comes to experience and actual boxing pedigree. He is one of the best boxers of the century and should have far too much for a complete novice despite having announced his retirement last year.
For DK Yoo this is clearly an opportunity to gain mainstream publicity for his self defence courses and the Korean is definitely milking it:
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Tailor made
But it is one thing looking good in a photo shoot with Pacquiao when you are both wearing tailor made suits. It is another thing looking good against the southpaw inside a ring when he is trying to hit you with his legendary right hook.
His trainer Freddie Roach even named the shot ‘Manila Ice’ in honour of the boxer who was his most successful fighter. Whether he will try to land it full force in an exhibition match remains to be seen but Pacquiao is clearly in training.
He is back in his gym in General Santos City and has been putting in the work on his abdominal muscles ahead of this exhibition match:
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Strength and conditioning
Pacquiao has been joined in the gym by his wife which suggests that the training isn’t too serious. But the fact that the boxer has even bothered with strength and conditioning does not bode too well for DK Yoo.
Floyd Mayweather has competed in two different exhibition bouts in Japan and has finished both opponents. This year he stopped Mikuru Asakura in the second round and in 2019 he finished Tenshin Nasukawa in the first.
But Mayweather was never known for finishing fights during his actual boxing career so is probably enjoying the novelty. Having stopped the likes of Ricky Hatton, Oscar de la Hoya and Miguel Cotto the Filipino might not feel the need to punish an opponent who is better known as a YouTuber than a fighter.
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Big money
There is clearly a lot of money to be made in the exhibition boxing industry and Pacquiao could get some bigger pay days in the future. Fights with Floyd Mayweather or Conor McGregor would generate millions.
But for the time being he seems content to keep a relatively low profile. He is facing former sparring partner Jaber Zayani in Saudi Arabia in February and the Frenchman will be very interested to see how seriously Pacquiao takes his fight against the Korean.
