Manny Pacquiao eyes a dream fight with Gervonta Davis after his comeback bout against Mario Barrios

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

“He started with the WBC world title, which was his first belt (WBC flyweight). This will be an amazing full-circle moment to win another WBC belt—and it won’t be his last. When he beats Mario Barrios, line them up. His dream fight is Gervonta Davis. He loves that fight. He tried to get that fight for a couple of years. Gervonta kept talking about how he didn’t want to fight him at 145. Then he goes and gets smoked by Lamont Roach,” Gibbons stated.

⚠️ EXCLUSIVE BREAKING NEWS⚠️

Manny Pacquiao eyes ‘dream’ Gervonta Davis fight

Full Story: https://t.co/77jTEFL3Ce #PacquiaoDavis #boxing pic.twitter.com/zBHb7xSajl

— World Boxing News (@WorldBoxingNews) May 26, 2025

Notably, Davis was held to a controversial draw with Lamont Roach in March and is set for a rematch on August 16.

The decision to grant Pacquiao a direct title shot has stirred controversy in the boxing community. Critics question why he is being given an immediate title opportunity, especially since he hasn’t been officially ranked in years. Some have also accused WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman of favoritism, as Pacquiao has not won a professional fight since 2019.

Currently, fighters such as Devin Haney, Souleymane Cissokho, Conor Benn, and Egidijus Kavaliauskas are ranked above Pacquiao. Others—like Raul Curiel, Thulani Mbenge, Eimantas Stanionis, Abel Ramos, and Alexis Rocha—have reportedly been pushed down the rankings to make way for the legendary Filipino boxer.

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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