Manny Pacquiao is set to make a historic return to the ring.
Pacquiao was last in action in in August 2021 when he suffered a unanimous decision defeat to Yordenis Ugas for the WBA welterweight title in Las Vegas.
That fight came over 25 years after his professional debut, which began the illustrious career of the Filipino, and has seen him win world titles in an incredible eight weight divisions.
He has claimed wins over the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez, Tim Bradley and Miguel Cotto during that time, and was also involved in one of the biggest fights in boxing history when he met Floyd Mayweather in May 2015.
Despite that loss to Ugas four years ago, Pacquiao never officially announced his retirement, and is now poised to make a dramatic return to the sport at the age of 46.
‘Pac-Man’ has been linked to a fight with WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios for a number of years, and now WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman has revealed to Boxing King Media that the fight is set to take place this summer.
“Mario Barrios is going to fight Manny Pacquiao in July. That’s a tremendous fight… It was released [by] PBC. His first title was at flyweight in the WBC, he wants to retire as the WBC champion so he’s fighting in the welterweight division.”
Although the fight is yet to be officially announced, it would be a huge opportunity for Barrios to showcase his skills to a big audience, having last been in action in November when he retained his belt with a split decision draw against Abel Ramos.
If victorious, Pacquiao would break his own record as the oldest welterweight world champion in history.
