Why Boxing Insiders Are Really Concerned About Manny Pacquiao’s Return to Fight Mario Barrios

Boxing insiders are becoming increasingly concerned at reports suggesting Manny Pacquiao is preparing to return to the sport aged 46 against the current WBC welterweight world champion Mario Barrios, 29, atop a Premier Boxing Champions event tentatively scheduled for the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on the 12th of July

Barrios is an active boxer, trained by Bob Santos in the Fight Capital of the World, and renowned for his performances over the last five years to Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, Keith Thurman, Yordenis Ugas — the last boxer to beat Pacquiao — and Fabian Maidana. His last outing was a split draw against Abel Ramos on the Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson event on Netflix, last year.

It was only at the very start of that run, four years ago, that Pacquiao fought his last bout — a brutal loss by decision to Ugas. The beatdown was so bad that Pacquiao’s wife, Jinkee, could be seen on video days later helping him eat, because he seemingly struggled to feed himself.

Even his coach, Freddie Roach, said at the time that he was “a little bit worried” that the end of Pacquiao’s career had arrived.

Pacquiao, too, indicated it was his last fight. “In the future, you may not see Manny Pacquiao in the ring.”

With a return fight on the cards five years later, in 2025, boxing insiders — from retired fighters, to coaches, and the media — are increasingly concerned that organizers are indeed going through with Pacquiao’s return, when inactivity, combined with his age, suggests things may well only go wrong for the Filipino icon.

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Insiders Concerned at Manny Pacquiao’s Ring Return

He’s long passed his prime, and appears set to lose — perhaps devastatingly — to Mario Barrios

Speaking to Mail Online, the former two-weight world champion Amir Khan, who was once training partners with Pacquiao at the Wildcard Boxing Club in Hollywood, said news of Pacquiao’s comeback “shocked me a little bit.”

He said: “He’s always one punch away from getting hurt. So doesn’t he want to just enjoy himself now? He had a hard career all his life. Why not sit back and relax?”

To Sky Sports, Khan also said: “I’m sure he’s got a great career ahead of him in politics. He doesn’t need to come back, but sometimes you do miss the sport.”

Renowned boxing broadcaster, James ‘Smitty’ Smith was aghast when discussing the probability of Pacquiao swapping punches with Barrios this summer.

“What possible good could come out of Manny Pacquiao fighting Barrios?” Smith answered a rhetortical question about how good it would be if Pacquiao actually won, by countering that this does not take into consideration “the punches to that head” of Pacquiao’s not just in the Barrios fight, but during training.

“When you think about this Manny Pacquiao thing, I can’t think of a scenario that would be good for Manny Pacquiao, for boxing, for boxing fans. You could make a strong argument that Manny Pacquiao even more than Floyd Mayweather, carried the sport for almost a decade. He did so much. If we want to honor him, we’re doing it in Canastota [by inducting him into the Hall of Fame]. Then you end it forever. “

Those with a stake in the success of the event, like WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, claim that Pacquiao cannot be counted out at 46, because ‘Sugar Ray’ Leonard ended a three-year absence to take on the feared fighter Marvin Hagler in 1987. Not only did Leonard defeat Hagler, he went on to share a draw with Thomas Hearns, and score a decision win over Roberto Duran, in further fights of great significance to the sport at the time.

For Dave Coldwell, one of boxing’s best coaches and analysts, this is a disingenuous point to make as Leonard was 31 years old before he beat Hagler. Pacquiao, right now, is 15 years older, and has been out of the ring for far longer, too.

Veteran boxing reporter Dan Rafael is also alarmed.

“When you’re 46 years old, haven’t fought a real fight in four years, coming off that loss and, more significantly, you’ve been in so many hellacious fights throughout your legendary career … I do worry about him coming back.”

For boxing presenter Adam Catterall, it also comes down to fairness. If Pacquiao returns to boxing after five years to challenge for a legitimate world championship, against the champion in Barrios, then he effectively skips the line of other, current, fighters who have been working their way up the rankings.

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