‘Call me a fighter, a warrior’: Pacquiao joins Boxing Hall of Fame

MANILA, Philippines — Manny Pacquiao has officially entered boxing immortality. And he said it wasn’t by design.

The 46-year-old Filipino icon was officially inducted as a member of the prestigious International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) Class of 2025 early Monday (Manila time) at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, New York.

Reading a prepared speech on a piece of paper, Pacquiao, who has compiled a pro record of 62-8-2 (with 39 knockouts) and gained numerous accolades along the way, said he spent his career not to be the sport’s greatest.

“I never chase greatness. I just work hard to be better than the Manny Pacquiao I was yesterday,” he told a packed audience.

Instead, Pacquiao said he was on a mission to achieve the best version of himself and take on the toughest fights possible — the end result being a record eight world titles in as many divisions.

Pacquiao, who is set to return against World Boxing Council welterweight champion Mario Barrios on July 19 (July 20 Manila time), took a brief break from training in Los Angeles to fly to New York aboard a private plane for the ceremony.

‘Hard fights over easy ones’

Pacquiao is ending a four-year retirement, and has a chance to further grow his legend if he stuns the younger and taller Barrios to again become a world champion.

Defying the odds has indeed been a theme of Pacquiao’s illustrious career, with the boxing legend notching noteworthy victories over bigger opposition like Oscar Dela Hoya and Antonio Margarito.

“I never pick the easy fights. I choose the hard ones. I move up weight after weight not to protect a record, but to test my limits,” he continued.

“And now when I look back — eight-division world champion, world titles in four different decades, oldest welterweight world champion in history. Those are not just opinions, they are facts.”

Fourth Filipino boxing Hall-of-Famer

Pacquiao thus became the fourth Filipino to enter the IBHOF ranks, following fellow boxers Pancho Villa (Class of 1994) and Flash Elorde (Class of 1993), and promoter Lope “Papa” Sarreal (Class of 2005).

In the ceremony, where he was joined by his wife Jinkee, a few aides and members of his training team led by Freddie Roach, he also thanked his family, trainers and the media.

There will always be talk among boxing observers and fans about the greatest fighter of this generation, with a significant number siding with Floyd Mayweather Jr. — who defeated Pacquiao 10 years ago, in what turned out to be the richest fight in history.

For Pacquiao, GOAT (greatest of all time) conversations will never matter to him.

“But greatness isn't what you call yourself. It is how you live your life and how you inspire others. So call me a fighter. Call me a warrior. Call me proudly Filipino. Call me a servant of God,” he said.

“Some people ask, 'Who is the greatest of all time?' That's not for me to decide. It belongs to the fans. It belongs to history.”

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