Here's how Netflix’s Physical: Asia creator lured Philippines’ boxing legend Manny Pacquiao on board

Physical: Asia, featuring 48 famous athletic and sports personalities representing their home countries, divided into teams of six members each, premiered on Tuesday, October 28, 2025.

The teams are led by some of the most iconic sports personalities of the nation, including Korea's UFC trailblazer Dong-hyun Stun Gun Kim, Japan's Yushin Okami, one of Asia’s most famous MMA fighters, and Australia's former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert The Reaper Whittaker.

Some other famous athletic legends leading the teams in Physical: Asia include Thailand's Muay Thai world champion Superbon, Mongolia's wrestling champion Orkhonbayar Bayarsaikhan, Türkiye's wrestling champion Recep Kara, and Indonesia's physique powerhouse Igedz Executioner.

One more sports icon and certainly one of the most famous among them is the Philippines' boxing hero Manny Pacquiao, who is also a retired politician and served as a senator of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022.

Pacquiao is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time, becoming the only eight-division world champion in boxing history. Now, as he is on the Netflix show Physical: Asia, it is important to know how he got on board the series.

Manny Pacquiao instantly accepted the offer and agreed to appear in Netflix's Physical: Asia 

The director of the Netflix series Physical: Asia Jang Ho-gi, opened up about how he managed to get Manny Pacquiao featured in the series at a press conference in Seoul on October 24, 2025. He narrated the incident:

We reached out to Pacquiao several times. He invited us to his home in the Philippines, where we got to watch him train and even shared a home-cooked meal together.

He further revealed that he explained the concept of the Physical: Asia series to Pacquiao, and he immediately agreed to join the show on that same day.

Jang described Physical: Asia as a fresh, Olympic-style competition exclusive to Netflix. In addition to the athletic spectacle, he said the series weaves in cultural elements as he noted:

There was a strong interest in Korean culture. We wanted to capture a range of Asian cultures with Korea at the centre, so we designed quests inspired by (former royal palace) Gyeongbokgung’s (main hall) Geunjeongjeon and incorporated drums as a tribute to the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

He further added that he feels the discovery of Korean culture, history, and Asian traditions overall will be another fun aspect for the viewers to watch.

There was an ongoing debate about the inclusion of Australia and Turkey, which do not typically come inside Asia, as the name suggests. Addressing that confusion, Jand said:

What sets our programme apart from other sports shows is that we look for the best physical abilities regardless of race or gender. In Season 1, we even had a participant from the US (former Major League Baseball player Dustin Nippert), and from the start, our goal has been to go beyond those boundaries.

According to him, the use of the term Asia was not meant to restrict but instead suggested expansion and was never about gathering only Asian participants.

Throwing some light on the format of casting, legendary athletes, Director Jang requested,

While we focused on Asia, this is a show originating from Korea, so view it as an expansion. Within this concept, we selected countries with distinct characteristics and strong sports cultures, gathering athletes.

Manny Pacquiao said in an interview in mixed English and Filipino that:

I was excited when I got the call, someone called me to say I was joining 'Physical: Asia.' Then, we had a meeting. That was the start.

He further thanked all the organizers and producers of Physical: Asia, and all the participants and teams who are going to participate or are participating in Physical: Asia.

The first four episodes of Physical: Asia premiered on Netflix on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, with the next two episodes, 5 and 6, scheduled to release on November 4, 2025, and episodes 7, 8, and 9 set to stream on November 11, 2025.

The final three episodes, 10, 11, and 12 (finale), would be available to stream on November 18, 2025.

Stay tuned for more updates.