Manny Pacquiao bucked a sloppy start and showed he still has some gas left in his tank in an exhibition match against Japanese Rukiya Anpo.
Manny Pacquiao and Japanese kickboxer Rukiya Anpo gave fans their money’s worth during an exhibition match in the Super Rizin 3 on Sunday, July 28.
There was no winner in the three-round bout as it resulted in a draw in the absence of judges and with neither scoring a knockout.
The match saw Pacquiao struggle to close the gap in the first two frames against the 6-foot hometown bet before regaining some semblance of his old, lethal self at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.
Winner of eight division titles, the 45-year-old Pacquiao looked like he no longer had the incredible footwork that helped turn him into a global superstar at the onset.
The youthful Anpo, a last-minute replacement to martial artist Chihiro Suzuki (hand injury), capitalized on that and his reach advantage, working on Pacquiao’s body in the early goings.
While Pacquiao moved a little better in Round Two, Anpo continued piercing Pacquiao’s temple and unleashing some combinations to the delight of the 14,000 partisan crowd.
Back in his heydays, the 5-foot-6 Filipino fighter had no problem making mincemeat of bigger foes.
His legendary career saw him slay giants like 5-foot-11 Antonio Margarito, whose face deformed after receiving a 12-round punishment from the Filipino pugilist.
Pacquiao, who held a 62-8-2 win-loss-draw record including 39 knockouts, also beat Jessie Vargas and Chris Algieri who are a shade under Margarito.
The fighting politician from Sarangani showed glimpses of that in the final round.
After receiving a couple of body shots from Anpo, Pacquiao unloaded a lead to the chin and an uppercut that somehow rattled his foe, who is 16 years his junior.
After the final bell, the two hugged it out in the middle to an appreciative crowd.