HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — The Wild Card Boxing gym is universally known as the house that Manny Pacquiao built.

Sure, Freddie Roach opened the gym in 1995 hoping the next Muhammad Ali would walk through its doors, and the two didn't link up until 2001, but Pacquiao put the place on the map as the pair went on a tear for two decades, riding till the wheels came off in 2021.

At 46, Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs) is back in the driver's seat from a four-year retirement, and the newly minted Hall of Famer recently returned for his umpteenth media day workout at Wild Card to amp up his July 19 comeback fight against WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios, who wasn't even born yet when Pacquiao made his pro debut in 1995.

Pacquiao is preparing steps away from Tinseltown studios, and scriptwriters are salivating in search of the perfect ending to his rags-to-riches story, going from an impoverished kid living in the Sarangani streets to a globally renowned living legend.

Just like in his heyday, the eight-division champion Pacquiao parades into Wild Card with a posse. The Filipino icon still loves a crowd, even if he marches to the beat of his own drum, arriving an hour late.

Pacquiao steps into the ring with his hands already wrapped. He’s fully clothed, and his aged frame looks the same. And yes, the calves are still cavernous. The only noticeable new features are some more grays in his hair and goatee as well as wrinkles around his eyes. Pacquiao can't beat Father Time in this particular fight.

Pacquiao laces up his gloves and starts hitting the pads, held by longtime assistant Buboy Fernandez. Roach as well as coaches Justin Fortune, Marvin Somodio and right-hand man Sean Gibbons look on. The band is back together because big business beckons.

Cameras click as Pacquiao showcases his fleet feet while going in and out of the pocket, peppering the pads with punches. It's a half-hearted session solely for style and substance, and the setting is not an appropriate one to gauge if Pacquiao is still operating at the peak of his powers. After all, no one is punching back at him.

From stretching to signing off, the entire ordeal lasts around 10 minutes.

Pacquiao promises he's putting in serious work away from the cameras. He realizes the potential pitfalls and perils that are ahead as he tries to become the second-oldest champion in boxing history.

"The dangers are when you get lazy in training," Pacquiao told The Ring. "The danger is when you're not 100% conditioned when you go into the fight. That's not healthy, not passion. I'm not going to be like other fighters who came back at 50% just to come back. I’m going to be at 100% like I did before, and whatever happens…"

Pacquiao cuts himself off before elaborating any further.

There is a significant pool of pundits who are predicting a paltry showing for Pacquiao, much like the world saw with the faded warhorse Ali during his last pair of performances against Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick.

Even Pacquiao's family is worried about the patriarch's well-being. His son Jimuel, who's also preparing for a pro career, says there is cause for concern around his father's comeback.

However, the ageless wonder is promising that all's well that ends well.

"My family has been very supportive," said Pacquiao. "They saw my speed, my power, my body conditioning. I'm in good health. God is good all the time. Without God, I am nothing. I am here because of God’s mercy and strength."

Can God's Holy Power protect Pacquiao from Barrios' punching power?

As beatable as Barrios (29-2-1, 18 KOs) is believed to be, the San Antonio native is a 30-year-old Aztec warrior in his prime with a six-inch height advantage who's coming in with mean intentions as a near minus-370 betting favorite.

Pacquiao is embracing his renewed role as the underdog. He emphasizes ad nauseam he's rejuvenated this time around following a fight gone wrong last time out in August 2021 against Yordenis Ugas, who stepped in as a replacement opponent for Errol Spence Jr. on less than two weeks' notice to outmuscle and outbox Pacquiao by unanimous decision.

Pacquiao was fighting for the first time in nearly two years at the time and appeared to have aged against Ugas following great wins against Thurman, Adrien Broner, and Lucas Matthysse.

The Ugas beating wasn't vicious but still serious enough, even if it could have been prevented. Pacquiao said he got an ill-advised massage in the locker room before the fight – something he'd never done before – which zapped his legs with cramps.

Call it an accident that can be corrected, or an excuse, much like the existing shoulder injury Pacquiao claimed he had following the loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr.

After the Ugas fight, footage showed Pacquiao's wife Jinkee spoon-feeding her battered and bruised husband. Pacquiao is looking to strike that scene and not follow the sad script another legend had when he was in a similar situation at the end of an illustrious career.

Sugar Ray Leonard retired in 1991 after a one-sided loss to Terry Norris only to return in 1997, months after being inducted into the Hall of Fame, as a shell of himself at 41 to suffer a fifth-round stoppage loss to Hector Camacho.

During the media day, Leonard was coincidentally present at Wild Card as well.

"It's beautiful. I guarantee you that he will be ready, it's totally up to the individual," said Leonard while pointing to his head and heart before showing his fist. "You know what? Be optimistic. Reality finds its way … I made a lot of comebacks, did you know that? If I was slow I would accept that and give up boxing."

If power is the last thing to go, Pacquiao's potential path to victory is to jackknife Barrios with his speed and combinations, much like many of his previous conquests.

"Remember, in boxing, speed is the key," said Pacquiao. "I'm faster than Barrios. My movement and speed is still there. It was good for my body to rest for four years. I still have the passion and fire in my eyes, I am working hard. It's still there … My trainers are not pushing me in this training camp. But they are watching me to tell me to 'stop, that's enough.' But for me, I want more."

Indeed, he does.

Pacquiao insists his insatiable appetite exists not because he's running out of money – having made over $550 million throughout his career – or a need for newfound power in the Philippines – punting politics to the side – but because he wants to make even more history by breaking Bernard Hopkins' record as the oldest champion ever at 49.

When names like Gervonta Davis, Ryan Garcia, Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney are mentioned as future matchups, Pacquiao says bring 'em on, but with only one request – one at a time.

Always known to have a penchant for singing, Pacquiao can be heard crooning Alphaville's "Forever Young" in between workouts.

Perhaps the only way the quadragenarian Pacquiao can be stopped is if someone actually stops him, much like Juan Manuel Marquez violently did in 2012 with a perfectly-timed counter punch.

Pacquiao's mythical aura hasn't been the same in a stretch featuring an 8-5 record over the last 13 years. He's no longer deemed the world beater who blasted through the likes of Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, and, at 40 years old in 2019, against Thurman to become the oldest welterweight champion in boxing history.

Pacquiao has to have another turn-back-the-clock-like performance so Barrios doesn't punish Pacquiao like Pacquiao did to Oscar De La Hoya in 2008, obliterating the Golden Boy with a one-sided beating into retirement.

Barrios is embracing the idea of making July 19 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas the last fight of Pacquiao's career.

"I'm ready to get a s---load of backlash if I retire him," Barrios told The Ring. "Timing always beats speed, and I have great timing. I have fast hands and fast feet too, I just choose not to use it all the time … it's kill or be killed in there. I am going in there with bad intentions, trying to get him out of there."

While Pacquiao works out, pictures of Ali, Leonard, De La Hoya, and every icon imaginable are plastered around the walls of Wild Card. Their faces are a reminder that none got a gold watch as a retirement gift – they got a beating.

There is a sign directly above the ring that reads: "You gotta have balls to conquer the world."

Another sign says: "It ain't easy."

Both messages are true for Pacquiao as he plans to take a passage from Ali’s playbook to prove that he can still float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, and Barrios' hands can't hit what the eyes can't see.