Manny Pacquiao is returning to the ring to fight Ruslan Provodnikov in a 10 round exhibition fight at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on April 18th.
Pacquiao last fought in July in a sanctioned bout against Mario Barrios. The fight ended in a draw.
Pacquiao indicated that he wanted to fight again in 2026 and found Provodnikov as a willing opponent. Provodnikov is best known for an entertaining fight against Timothy Bradley in March 2013. He last fough in June 2016, a loss to John Molina, Jr.
Provodnikov is 42 years old. Pacquiao is 47 years old.
Payout Perspective:
The event occurs on the same day as the first night of Wrestlemania at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. There is also a UFC card in Ottawa as well as Callum Smith returning to the ring to fight David Morrell. Thus, there will be a lot of combat sports on April 18th, but there is just one Pacquiao. Does he still have the drawing power to garner a gate and PPV buys? We will see.

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