45-year-old Manny Pacquiao plans to end retirement for WBC welterweight title fight

Manny Pacquaio wishes to break his own record by making a comeback at 45 years old against the WBC welterweight champion.

45-year-old Manny Pacquiao plans to end retirement for WBC welterweight title fight

Manny Pacquiao (image credit- Sky Sports News)

It seems that Manny Pacquiao is considering a comeback to boxing. However, his comeback won’t be an exhibition fight or any regular professional bout. This is because Pacquiao is aiming to compete for the WBC welterweight title upon his return to the ring. A boxing insider has mentioned that there’s a chance this could happen in the upcoming fall.

At 45 years old, Pacquaio is still a boxing icon who rose to the top of the sport. In addition, the former champion is well known for fighting Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Adrien Broner. He has been connected to several fights, including a potential rematch with his past adversary Floyd Mayweather. Subsequently, reports now suggest that he plans on fighting WBC interim welterweight champion, Mario Barrios. 

A Manny Pacquiao-Mario Barrios WBC welterweight title fight is being explored for this fall in Las Vegas, MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons told ESPN.
Mike Coppinger via X
YouTube video

ESPN boxing expert, Mike Coppinger suggests that ‘PacMan’ is eager to get back into boxing. This is not all, since he is looking for another major win to enhance his already impressive record. Furthermore, Manny Pacquiao mentioned how he made history at 40 years old by defeating Keith Thruman. 

Subsequently, the 45-year-old now plans to beat his achievement by fighting a 29-year-old for the world title. In addition, before all of this, Pacquiao had expressed his interest in fighting Conor Benn. However, this fight did not move forward due to Benn’s drug test controversy. 

Mario Barrios comments on fighting Manny Pacquiao 

Barrios is a former WBC champion in the 140-pound division. Furthermore, the 29-year-old recently defended the WBC interim welterweight belt via a unanimous-decision win over Fabian Maidana, who was knocked down in the third round. 

Mario Barrios, WBC
Mario Barrios (image credit- Sky Sports News)

Furthermore, he is now expected to be elevated to the WBC welterweight title due to Terence Crawford‘s fight on August 3. In addition, Barrios is now expected to defend the title against the legendary Pacquaio. As such, the young boxer expressed his thoughts on the matchup and described his excitement. 

Barrios stated that he would be honored to fight against a legend such as Pacquiao, and a fight would be attractive to him. In addition, he remarked that Pacquiao is a future Hall of Famer because of his numerous achievements. Furthermore, Barros mentioned that he always idolized Pacquaio while growing up. 

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