Manny Pacquiao is considered a legend in the sport of boxing, but he is not above exhibition bouts, and is certainly not above facing a YouTuber.
Manny ‘Pac-Man’ Pacquiao retired with a record of 62-8-2 and became a hall-of-famer, and fan favorite.
‘Pac-Man’ last fought professionally in 2021, but has since fought two exhibitions against DK Yoo, a South Korean YouTuber, and Rukiya Anpo, a Japanese kickboxer.
Even after these exhibitions, which many believe Pacquiao did not look great in, the Filipino boxer decided to take on an American YouTuber, who live-streamed the whole thing.
Manny Pacquiao drops IShowSpeed after taking punches live on stream
IShowSpeed is an American streamer and YouTuber, with 36.8M subscribers on the platform. In one of his live streams, Speed was seen with Pacquiao, who had a thrilling quadrilogy with Juan Manuel Marquez, with the pair donning gloves, ready to face off.
Speed told Pacquiao ahead of their light-spar: “Tell Manny he can go a little harder on me, I’m not a kid now.”
He warned Pac-Man: “I’mma go like 70% okay?” before the pair began throwing shots at one another.
Pacquiao, who named his dog Thurman after former opponent Keith Thurman, blocked many shots from Speed, seemingly reluctant to throw his own, however, once Speed tired from throwing over 15 unanswered punches, Pacquiao dropped him easily with a left uppercut to the body.
“I’d hit him once and he’d just tumble”… Jake Paul rejected challenge from Manny Pacquiao
Jake Paul, a highly controversial figure in boxing, has had many interesting match-ups, from former UFC fighters to a near-60-year-old Mike Tyson, but one opponent that never quite made the cut was Pacquiao, who became known after a KO of Jorge Julio on Mike Tyson’s undercard, himself.
Speaking on his BS Podcast, Paul said: “Manny actually wanted to fight me […] Behind the scenes [there were] a bunch of conversations. It didn’t seem very exciting you know?”
Paul, whose last fight came at heavyweight, elaborated, saying he believed it would be an easy win for him: “I’d hit him once and he’d just tumble.”
Speaking on the age difference, with Pacquiao now in his mid-forties, Paul said: “Yeah, but some guys still have it in their 40’s and 50’s but he just doesn’t give that vibe.”
It seems many fighters want to face Paul, with Usyk’s toughest test, Mairis Briedis, calling Paul out by getting a bizarre tattoo.
Paul has teased the Middle East as the likely venue for his next fight, though no opponent has been announced.