MMA Fighting has Manny Pacquiao vs. DK Yoo live round-by-round updates for the boxing clash which takes place Saturday at Korea International Exhibition Center in Goyang, South Korea.
The main card begins around 10 p.m. ET on FITE TV pay-per-view so the main event will likely begin around midnight. DraftKings Sportsbook is not offering odds for the fight.
Manny Pacquiao competes for the first time since retiring from professional boxing in 2021 following a unanimous decision loss to Yordenis Ugás. One of the greatest professional boxers of all-time, the 43-year-old Pacquiao compiled a 62-8-2 career record while becoming the only boxer in history to win 12 major titles in eight different weight classes.
DK Yoo is a South Korean martial artist who will be making his debut in the boxing ring.
See undercard results here:
Nico Hernandez def. Jae Young Kim via unanimous decision
Min Wook Kim def. Marcus Davidson via KO (R5, 2:55)
Abel Mendoza vs. Min Guk Ju ends in a draw
Seung Ho Yang def. Sean Garcia via majority decision
Preliminaries
Maurice Lee def. Shin Yong Kim via unanimous decision
Marcell Davidson def. Yoon Bin Han via KO (R3, 2:24)
The Pacquiao vs. DK Yoo clash will be a six-round exhibition fight.
Check out the Manny Pacquiao vs. DK Yoo main event live blog below.
Pacquiao makes the walk out for the main event shortly.
DK Yoo waits in the ring as Pacquiao makes his entrance to Eye of the Tiger by Survivor.
Round 1: Your referee for this contest, Jang-Sung Kim. Respectful touch of gloves to start. Two-minute rounds for this exhibition contest. Pacquiao lands the first jab with both boxers flicking from long distance. Pacquiao doubles up on the jab. Yoo not having much luck finding the target. Pacquiao with a left to the ribs. Yoo throws a straight left in response, drawing a smile out of Pacquiao. Another body shot for Pacquiao, though he’s warned to get his shots up.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Pacquiao.
Round 2: Pacquiao deflects Yoo’s jabs and lands one of his own to Yoo’s body, then another. The former boxing champ working to navigate his taller opponent. Right lands for Pacquiao and Yoo just gets out of the way of a follow-up left. Jab connects for Pacquiao. Yoo fires out a 1-2 combo. Quick right hand lands for Pacquiao as he chases Yoo. Yoo dodges a Pacquiao overhand.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Pacquiao. Overall, 20-18 Pacquiao.
Round 3: Pacquiao sneaks in a right hand. He lunges forward and scores with another. Nice counter left by Yoo. Pacquiao rips the body again with his left. He’s stringing together shots now to the body and head. Yoo offers a respectful bow. Yoo slows Pacquiao’s advance with a jab. Pacquiao lands a jab with force. Right hook by Pacquiao and Yoo ties him up. Yoo takes a chance with a looping punch and Pacquiao makes him pay with a trio of short punches.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Pacquiao. Overall, 30-27 Pacquiao.
Round 4: Pacquiao aggressively walking Yoo down now. Right hook scores for Pacquiao. He goes to the body and a tiring Yoo just grabs him. Pacquiao hits another right. There’s Yoo with a right hook that connects. Pacquiao goes to the body and Yoo backs up to the edge of the ropes and smacks into a cameraman. Yoo comes forward and Pacquiao counters, causing Yoo to take a knee. That’s ruled a slip. Big flurry by Pacquiao to close out the round and it almost looked like the fight was over there, but the bout will continue.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-8, Pacquiao. Overall, 40-35 Pacquiao.
Round 5: Yoo really taking his time getting off of the stool. He might not be in this one much longer. Left hand hits Yoo and he’s wobbled, but now he’s shuffling and styling, much to Pacquiao’s amusement. Pacquiao’s left is landing over and over again. The ref steps in to warn Pacquiao of a shot to the back fo the head. Long delay here and it’s unclear if Yoo is just buying time to recover. The fight resumes and Pacquiao is just letting Yoo have it. Yoo struggling to do anything besides grab Pacquiao.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-8, Pacquiao. Overall, 50-43 Pacquiao.
Round 6: Yoo hugs Pacquiao, but that doesn’t stop Pacquiao from cracking him with a few punches right out of the gate. Yoo stumbles to his knees, more time killing. Pacquiao with a monster left and that’s a clear knockdown. Yoo answers the count. The referee is... giving Yoo a timeout? OK. Yoo active on the reset, but Pacquiao blasts him with a hard shot. Another flurry by Pacquiao and Yoo goes down. It’s ruled a slip! This is getting kind of silly. Yoo survives to the final bell (with some assistance).
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-8, Pacquiao. Overall, 60-51 Pacquiao.
Official result: Manny Pacquiao def. DK Yoo via unanimous decision
Pacquiao says it’s nice to be back in the ring and that he’s going to continue training to get back in shape. He’s coy about fighting again in 2023: “We’ll see.”
Asked if he thinks Floyd Mayweather will rematch him in an exhibition, Pacquiao says, “I don’t know. I don’t have any idea because he always changes his decision.”