By Victor Kanayo
Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao has announced that he is coming out of retirement to fight WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios.
The 46-year-old boxing great, who disclosed this via his social media handle, simply said, “I’m back.”
The fight is scheduled for MGM Grand in Las Vegas on 19 July 2025, nearly four years after his last professional fight.
Pacquiao’s team had announced the comeback last week, just hours after he conceded defeat in a bid for another seat in the Philippines Senate.
Boxing Career Path
Pacquiao is the only boxer to win world championships in a record eight weight divisions, while he was also the oldest welterweight world champion in history at the age of 40 in 2019.
Pacquiao won 12 titles in a record eight weight classes from flyweight to super welterweight while becoming one of boxing’s biggest draws. He will be enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame on 8 June.
Pacquiao previously planned to end his 26-year boxing career in 2021 with a record of 62-8-2, with 39 knockouts.
Political Voyage
A Filipino senator from 2016 to 2022, Pacquiao had retired from boxing in 2021 while he also ran for president in 2022.
Barrios, a Mexican-American boxer, has 29 wins in 32 bouts, winning 18 by knockout and losing twice.
