Manny Pacquiao returns to the ring: PacMan targets vacant welterweight title vs Mario Barrios
It’s been three years since Manny Pacquiao stepped into the ring, but there’s no reason to believe that if he does, he won’t pose the same threat he always did.
Given what the world of boxing has seen over the last few years, one could argue there are no longer any surprises. With that said word of the former seven-division champion’s possible return to the ring can only be described as unexpected.
Manny Pacquiao is about that life
One could be forgiven for having doubts but reports do in fact confirm that Manny Pacquiao is set to return to the boxing ring. The former champion’s promoter, Sean Gibbons, disclosed that the 45-year-old is targeting a welterweight title bout against Mario Barrios in Las Vegas later this year. To be clear, Pacquiao has not been in a professional bout since 2021, a contest that he lost by decision to Yordensi Ugas. Of course, for a man who is the first and only boxer to hold nine title belts across seven divisions, those are just details.
Indeed, Pacquiao explained that despite his age, he can still fight at the highest level and that his three-year absence from the ring has allowed his body to recuperate. “I made history at 40 beating Keith Thurman and I feel at 45, I have a lot left in the game as I haven’t taken a lot of punishment over the last few years,” Pacquiao told ESPN. “I want to go out making history.” Yet, there is still reality to concern i.e., Barrios is 16 years Pacquiao’s junior at the age of 29 years old. Can the veteran maintain against a fighter who is so much younger? Regardless, Barrios who sits on an impressive record of 29-2 and is the current interim WBC title holder at 147 pounds, is relishing the possibility. “I’m very excited at the possibility of this fight being made,” Barrios said. “Manny Pacquiao is a future Hall of Famer, a legend, and someone I looked up to growing up. To share the ring with him would be an honor and a dream come true.”
For context, Pacquiao’s first professional fight came back in 1995 which happens to be the same year that Barrios was born. Following what turned out to be a win over Edmund Enting Ignacio, the Phillipino star would go on to register a record of 54-3-2 across 59 fights, during which time he clinched world titles from 112 pounds right through to 154 pounds. Undoubtedly the most famous of those was a loss by decision to Floyd Mayweather in 2015, though it’s worth noting that it was the highest-grossing. While it’s fair to assume this bout, should it happen, won’t fetch those figures, it’s hard to deny that it’s the kind of fight that boxing fans will want to watch.