Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao is planning to return out of retirement to battle Mario Barrios in Las Vegas.
The pay-per-view battle will happen on July 19 and can see the 2 duke it out for the WBC welterweight championship, ESPN reported on Thursday.
It’ll mark an finish to a virtually four-year retirement for the 46-year-old Pacquiao, although the boxing celebrity has remained across the sport in some features.
Rumors had been swirling that he’d come out to battle since late final yr.
The upcoming match will likely be out there by way of PBC on Prime Video pay-per-view, ESPN reported.
Pacquiao final competed in a aggressive battle in August 2021 when he was defeated by Yordenis Ugas in a unanimous choice for the WBA welterweight championship.
The Philippine boxer opted to hold up his gloves after the battle and put extra give attention to his political profession.
Pacquiao served as a senator within the Philippines from 2016-22 and is now in the course of an in depth senate race.
Pacquiao will not be planning on formally saying his need to return to boxing till after the Might 12 election, Brunch Boxing indicated.
However, all the indications counsel that he’ll return to the ring.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman instructed Boxing King Media in the course of the Canelo Alvarez-William Scull battle in Saudi Arabia on Saturday that Barrios could be preventing Pacquiao in July, calling it a “tremendous fight.”
“[Pacquiao] wants to retire as WBC champion, so he’s fighting in the welterweight division,” Sulaiman instructed the interviewer.
Moreover, Pacquiao has reportedly already been cleared to battle by the Nevada State Athletic Fee.
Tyson at AT&T Stadium on Nov. 15, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. Getty Photographs for Netflix © 2024
Pacquiao was elected into the Worldwide Boxing Corridor of Fame’s Class of 2025 in early December.
He will likely be inducted in June.
“Today, I am humbled knowing that in June, I will receive boxing’s highest honor, joining our national hero, Flash Elorde, as well as my trainer and friend Freddie Roach,” he mentioned in an announcement on the time of the announcement.
