Manny Pacquiao bids to break his oldest welterweight champion record by six years when the boxing legend returns this summer.
World Boxing News broke the story first through Pacquiao’s right-hand man Sean Gibbons on May 31, 2024. The eventuality, sidetracked by a bid to return to the Philippines Senate in May, is set to be rubberstamped for July 19.
After a four-year retirement, Pacquiao, boxing’s only eight-weight world champion, laces his gloves again. Many thought a loss to Yordenis Ugás would be his final chapter after the veteran announced his retirement, but that wouldn’t be the great Manny Pacquiao.
Always one for a surprise, Pacquiao is set to delight Las Vegas fans with a swansong in the sport’s capital on the world-famous strip. Premier Boxing Champions is working on a doubleheader for the 46-year-old for a blockbuster Pay-Per-View event.
The bout will feature a rematch of the world super welterweight title clash between ‘The Towering Inferno’ Sebastian Fundora and Australian tough guy Tim Tszyu.
Fundora dropped the WBA super welterweight title to secure a second fight with Tszyu, which promises another war.
PBC plans to sell Pacquiao’s comeback as a Premium Live Event backed up by the promise of another Fight of the Year contender alongside a superstar.
Pacquiao’s challenge is to dethrone Mario Barrios of the WBC welterweight championship. Barrios heads into the bout on the back of a draw with Abel Ramos on the Paul vs. Tyson undercard.
The former Philippines Senator, who hopes to win back his senate seat on May 12, aims to claim the 147-pound WBC belt for the first time. If successful, he will overtake his previous record when he took the WBA welterweight title from Keith Thurman almost exactly six years before his return on July 20, 2019.
Pacquiao won a split decision, although the consensus is that the decision was vaster than that against a young, undefeated champion.
Stephanie Trapp If Pacquiao can overcome inactivity and add to his collection of championship belts, the king of multiple weight classes will etch another benchmark into his legacy.
He’s fought seven times since following a money-spinning battle with Floyd Mayweather in 2015, which Pacquiao lost via unanimous decision.
‘The ‘Pac-Man’ has beaten Timothy Bradley, Jesse Vargas, Lucas Matthysse, Adrien Broner, and Thurman. However, he lost a highly debatable WBO title battle with Jeff Horn and his final bout against Yordenis Ugas.
All seven were world champions, and his two world titles during that run proved his longevity.
But whether he can still be anywhere near his best after another four years out is debatable. The jury is still out on Pacquiao after his performance in an exhibition match against Japanese kickboxer Rukiya Anpo.
Fans also remain skeptical of legends returning following Mike Tyson’s performance at 58 in November.
Pacquiao vs. Barrios could be officially announced after the election, despite trainer Bob Santos informing Worldboxingnews.com that he was in the dark on confirmation. – If you use these WBN quotes, please link back to the source: https://www.worldboxingnews.com/manny-pacquaio-break-record/
