AS expected, Manny Pacquiao toyed with South Korean DK Yoo yesterday en route to a clear-cut unanimous decision win in their exhibition bout at the packed Korean International Convention Center in Seoul, South Korea.
In his first appearance in the ring after announcing his retirement just slightly over a year ago, Pacquiao, 44, was all over Yoo from the fourth round onwards, knocking his foe down with barely 10 seconds in the fourth with crisp combinations that left the South Korean groggy and his nose bloodied.
The hometown bet tried to shrug off the knockdown in the penultimate round, coming up with an animated Ali-like shuffle early on but this only elicited even greater punishment from Pacman, who landed a crushing left hook to the body that sent the Korean martial artist down again halfway through the round.
The last round mirrored the previous two rounds, with the former eight-division world champion going for a knockout while his desperate South Korean rival struggled to stay on his feet in a bid not to disappoint the hometown crowd.
After the benefit match, Pacquiao turned his attention anew on former American tormentor Floyd Mayweather Jr., who beat him by unanimous decision at the MGM Grand Arena in 2015, to a possible rematch
“I don’t know,” Pacquiao said. “I have no idea. He (Mayweather) always changes his decision.”
“(It’s) nice to be back in the ring, especially this charity exhibition match and I’m going to continue my training to get back in shape,” said Pacquiao, who tipped the scales at 161.1 pounds during the weigh-in last Friday.
Most of the proceeds of the fight will go the homeless victims of the war in the Ukraine as well as poor homeless families in the Philippines.
