Eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao is on the verge of making a shock return to the sport.
The 46-year-old from the Philippines will challenge reigning WBC world welterweight champion Mario Barrios on Saturday July 19 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
It will be Pacquiao’s first professional ring appearance in over four years after he was comprehensively beaten by former WBA world welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas in the summer of 2021.
It will also be an opportunity for the Filipino icon to pick up his first victory since 2019, which came when he captured the WBA welterweight title from the hands of Keith Thurman to become the oldest welterweight champion in history.
Thurman has also shared the ring with Barrios, defeating ‘El Azteca’ in their non-title showdown several years ago. Speaking in the post-fight press conference after the bout, Thurman admitted that whilst Barrios caught him with a number of good body shots, it wasn’t the hardest punch he has ever felt.
“Somebody lands a good shot, they land a good shot and body shots are just different, but it is interesting if I breathe deeply I still kinda just feel awkward in the body region, like I said I felt tenderness before I was even touched tonight so that one shot definitely awakened a little sensation of discomfort and pain but it wasn’t the hardest I’ve ever been hit.”
In a separate interview, Thurman paid homage to the punching power of Pacquiao, claiming his fists were like ‘bricks’ when they fought six years ago.
“Pacquiao? It’s weird. Danny Garcia felt like a big brick, Pacquiao felt like a little brick. Okay now the weird part is Pacquiao’s hands just felt heavy, after the fight I constantly was thinking ‘Why did his fists feel like a rock?’, it was like awkward right? I was like ‘Why did his fists feel so hard?'”
‘PacMan’ will become the oldest welterweight champion of all time should he be victorious over Barrios next month, breaking the record he set when he defeated Thurman at 40-years-old.
