Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao will return to the ring in December to face Korean YouTuber DK Yoo in an exhibition fight.
Pacquiao, who won world titles in eight weight classes during his career, announced his retirement from boxing last September after two and a half decades in the ring. The Filipino missed out on the welterweight title against Yordenis Ugas in his last fight, the same belt he won two years prior against Keith Thurman.
Yoo practices his own form of martial arts called 'Welfare Training Systems'. The system covers disciplines such as aikido, savate and kung fu, but its legitimacy has been questioned by critics. In an attempt to defend his credentials, Yoo took on former UFC middleweight Bradley Scott in a pay-per-view boxing event last December.
Scott, who had a 20kg weight advantage in the fight, manhandled Yoo and was the clear winner despite no official verdict being announced after six rounds. Luckily for Yoo, he will have a size advantage over Pacquiao in the fight being dubbed "boxer vs meditator".
Yoo announced the fight by saying: "I am going to fight against one of the best boxers in the world. I'm telling you right now, who's going to be my next opponent. I'm going to fight against Manny Pacquiao." The ring legend then replied to Yoo by stating: “DK Yoo, see you in the special event this coming December. God Bless and be safe.” The pair recently met in General Santos to sign contracts for the fight.
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Pacquiao, who is regarded as one of the best boxers of all time, retired from the sport to focus on his presidential run in the Philippines. He came third in this year's elections after receiving over 3.5million votes. Before his fight with Yoo was announced, Pacquiao was linked to exhibition clashes against longtime rival Floyd Mayweather and British star Amir Khan.
Mayweather, who outpointed Pacquiao seven years ago in the 'Fight of the Century', has made millions from taking part in exhibition fights since finishing his professional career with a record of 50-0. 'Money' last fought against former sparring partner Don Moore in May and boasted about earning $100million from his clash with Logan Paul before that.
Pacquiao's 21-year-old son Emmanuel recently came up short in his efforts to match the early success of his father. He lost his unbeaten status in just his fourth fight amateur fight after being outpointed by Chris Smith in San Fransisco.
