Manny Pacquiao admits that a four-year hiatus from boxing reignited his hunger for a comeback

Philippine boxing legend Manny Pacquiao was widely expected to make a return to boxing after a four-year hiatus—and now, the former eight-division world champion has made it official.

Pacquiao took to social media to announce 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 known as Twitter).

The former world champion brought in longtime head trainer Freddie Roach for his upcoming fight and is currently training for the highly anticipated bout at the Hall of Famer’s Wild Card Gym in California.

Pacquiao spoke to reporters recently during a break from training, revealing that the four-year layoff reignited his passion for boxing.

“Four years of rest has been good for me. I have been in boxing for so many decades, so it’s good for my body to rest for four years. Now I’m back, I’m hungry to fight again. I’m hungry to fight in a big fight like this. To work hard, have discipline, everything like that. I have missed boxing. I feel like the passion, the fire in my eyes, working hard—it’s still there,” Pacquiao said.

The Filipino superstar admitted that, at 46, it’s natural for his body to take longer to recover, but he reiterated that he has not seen any drop in his physical conditioning.

“I’m fast, I can move like I did before. I can run in the mountains with the young boxers, so I’m happy. I’m enjoying this training camp. There are a couple of adjustments for bodily recovery. We have to control the body, give my body time to rest and recover,” he added.

LEGACY CONTINUES 👊🇵🇭 @MannyPacquiao #Boxing pic.twitter.com/92hH43bfnW

— Teofimo Lopez (@TeofimoLopez) June 27, 2025

Sean Gibbons, president of Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions, recently revealed that Pacquiao is targeting a “dream fight” against World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight champion Gervonta Davis in the near future.

“It’s hard to say. Now I’m back, so one at a time—after this fight we can plan whatever we want,” Pacquiao stated.

This will be Pacquiao’s first professional fight since losing by unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas in August 2021 for the 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 decision to grant Pacquiao a direct title shot has stirred controversy within the boxing community. Critics have questioned why he is being granted an immediate title opportunity, especially since he hasn’t been officially ranked in years. Some have also accused WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman of favoritism, considering Pacquiao has not won a professional fight since 2019.

Barrios, on the other hand, has won 29 of his 32 fights, with 18 victories coming by knockout. The Mexican-American won the interim WBC title in September 2023 and was elevated to full champion in June 2024 after Terence Crawford moved up to 154 pounds to face Israil Madrimov. Barrios has only lost twice in his career—to Gervonta Davis and Keith Thurman.

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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