Manny Pacquiao to fight Mario Barrios in July, says WBC president

Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines enters the ring for his fight against Yordenis Ugas of Cuba during the WBA Welterweight Championship boxing match at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 21, 2021. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines–Far distant from his last official bout, Manny Pacquiao is inching closer and closer to a potential comeback.

There have been rumors and speculations about a possible ring return for the Filipino boxing legend ever since he hung up his gloves following a stunning loss to Cuba’s Yordenis Ugas in August 2021 but nothing has pushed through yet.

READ: Manny Pacquiao says Anpo exhibition a ‘good tuneup’ for comeback

This time could be different with WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman confirming an earlier report that Pacquiao will challenge Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title this July.

“At this time, Mario Barrios is going to face Manny Pacquiao in July. That’s a tremendous fight,” Sulaiman said in an interview with Boxing King Media.

While that is something to look forward to, Pacquiao currently has a lot on his plate running for Senate reelection in the May 12 polls.

READ: Pacquiao set for July exhibition, in talks for title bout vs Barrios

It’s not the first time Pacquiao and Barrios have been linked to a potential fight. In June of last year, Pacquiao said “negotiations” with Barrios’ camp were ongoing for a November or December clash that never happened.

Pacquiao, who turns 47 years old in December, dusted off the cobwebs with a tough three-round boxing exhibition against Japanese kickboxer and mixed martial artist Rukiya Anpo in Saitama, Japan in July.

Despite his boxing inexperience, the much bigger and younger Anpo made a good account of himself and gave Pacquiao a lot to think about making an official comeback.

READ: Manny Pacquiao ‘ready to go’ for comeback fight–possibly in Saudi

Interestingly, Barrios–like Anpo–is listed at 6-foot tall and is of the same age of 29.

Barrios (29-2-1, 18KOs), who hails from San Antonio, Texas, claimed the WBC interim welterweight belt after beating Ugas by unanimous decision back in September 2023.

He was elevated to a full-fledged WBC champion in June 2024 after Terence Crawford campaigned at the 154-pound division.

Barrios settled for a split draw against Abel Ramos in his last fight six months ago.