Eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs) will finally get the chance to go out and make history as he is supposedly scheduled to fight American Mario Barrios (29-2-1, 18 KOs) in July this year.
The said title fight will be for Barrios’s WBC welterweight belt and was confirmed by no less than WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman in an ambush interview with Boxing King Media at the weigh-ins for the Fatal Fury fight card.
“At this time, Mario Barrios is going to fight Manny Pacquiao in July…,” Barrios said. “That’s a tremendous fight. Manny Pacquiao’s first [world] title was at flyweight, with the WBC. And [now] he wants to retire as the WBC champion, so he’s fighting in the welterweight division.”
Sulaiman later clarified that the WBC has explicit rules where “a legendary champion with the credentials such as Manny Pacquiao” can come out of retirement and request an immediate title shot. He cited as an example the case of “Sugar” Ray Leonard, who came out of a three-year hiatus and took on Marvin Hagler in April 6, 1987 for the latter’s WBC middleweight crown. Leonard, then just 30 years old, beat the 33-year-old via controversial split decision.
The WBC president also said that Pacquiao, who is running for a Senate seat in the May 12 midterm polls, has already been cleared by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Manny Pacquiao’s Quest for More History
The Barrios fight was actually explored as early as last year, with Pacquiao telling ESPN that he has plenty in the tank left as he chases history—possibly for a final time.
“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.”
Indeed, Pacquiao made history when he beat Thurman in July 20, 2019 and won the WBA (Super) Welterweight title to become the oldest ever champ—at 40 years, 4 months—of the 147-pound division. A win against Barrios in July should the fight push through will allow the PacMan to reset that record by six years and also join Bernard Hopkins (49 years, 94 days) and George Foreman (46 years, 102 days) as the three oldest boxers to have won a belt.
Modern-Day George Foreman? That’s Pacquiao, Says Sean Gibbons
Plans for the Mario Barrios vs. Manny Pacquiao fight last year ultimately fizzled out as the fighting pride of the Philippines looked every bit his age in his exhibition match against Japanese kickboxer Rukiya Anpo in July 2024.
A year later, the same fight is again looking like a strong possibility, with Brunch Boxing first reporting about the potential bout. Pacquiao’s manager, Sean Gibbons later told BoxingScene that the said showdown “is a possibility” and that the PacMan “is a modern-day George Foreman, Archie Moore and Bernard Hopkins.” An official announcement, though, isn’t expected at least until after the May 12 elections.
Manny Pacquiao, considered as one of the greatest fighters ever, last fought in August 2021, when he was beaten by Yordenis Ugas on points. He has since kept busy with exhibition bouts, including the one against Anpo.
