‘I will win’: Manny Pacquiao is confident of beating Mario Barrios in his comeback fight

Philippine boxing icon Manny Pacquiao was widely expected to return to the ring after a four-year hiatus—and the former eight-division world champion recently made it official.

Pacquiao announced on social media that he will come out of retirement to face World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion Mario Barrios for the title in Las Vegas.

“I’m back. On July 19, I return to the ring to face WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Let’s make history!” Pacquiao posted on X (formerly Twitter).

This will be Pacquiao’s first professional fight since losing by unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas in August 2021 for the World Boxing Association (WBA) super welterweight title. That title had been stripped from Pacquiao due to inactivity, and since then, he has only participated in exhibition bouts around the world.

The Filipino legend has brought in longtime head trainer Freddie Roach for his upcoming fight, and given what the two have accomplished during their legendary careers, there is no doubt that much will be expected from them. 

The 46-year-old is currently training for the fight in Las Vegas, where he is being hounded by the media, although Pacquiao is not too bothered by it, revealing to the reporters that he is confident of beating Barrios, who is 16 years his junior at 30.

“I’m confident I will win the fight. But I’m not taking it lightly and not underestimating him. I have to punish myself as I have done before in training,” Pacquiao stated.

Also this Saturday!

Manny Pacquiao and WBC World Champion Mario Barrios will square off at a press conference in Las Vegas to announce 7/19‼️

Also Tszyu and Fundora will be there as they are 7/19 Co-Main event‼️#Boxing#BOXINGnBBQ pic.twitter.com/xpjK61Lf40

— BOXING n BBQ (@BOXINGnBBQ) May 29, 2025

The former eight-division world champion reiterated that his current training routine is far superior to that he followed in his last two lackluster exhibition fights he has participated in since losing to Ugas in August 2021.

“I just trained one week for those exhibition fights, so they can all expect a good Manny Pacquiao. I know the fans are excited to watch Manny Pacquiao again. I will do my best, and that’s why I’m doing this in training, doing all the hard work like I did before in the gym. I’m here to put up a good fight. I won’t let the fans down,” he added.

A win for Pacquiao against Barrios would give him his 13th welterweight title win of his career and the first since winning the World Boxing Organization (WBO) title in 2009, when he beat Hall of Famer Miguel Cotto via a 12th-round technical knockout.

Sean Gibbons, president of Manny Pacquiao MP Promotions, recently revealed that the 46-year-old is not planning to stop with a WBC welterweight title bout against Barrios and was targeting a “dream fight” against World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight champion Gervonta Davis.

However, Pacquiao refused to comment on such suggestions, stating, “I don’t know. One at a time. I need to focus on this one fight.”

The bout was initially scheduled for the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas but was moved to the MGM Grand Garden Arena due to a prior commitment for a Lady Gaga concert.

The fight between Pacquiao and Barrios will reportedly be streamed via PBC on Prime Video pay-per-view.

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