Manny Pacquiao is set to make an unorthodox return to the boxing ring aged 46 against Mario Barrios on July 19th, 2025.
Challenging for Barrios’s WBC World Welterweight title in Las Vegas, Pacquiao will return to professional action for the first time since 2021.
Former Gervonta Davis opponent Barrios goes into the bout with a record of 29-2-1, as well as being a significant favorite in the fight.
Although Pacquiao’s last professional fight was in 2021, he has put on the gloves since then. Competing in an exhibition bout, ‘Pac-Man’ was active in 2024.
Manny Pacquiao faced Rukiya Anpo in a custom rules boxing match in 2024
In July 2024, Pacquiao competed under the banner of the combat sports organization Rizin. Competing in Japan, Pacquiao, who once knocked out Ricky Hatton, fought in the event against kickboxer Rukiya Anpo.
The bout was advertised as a ‘custom rules’ match, however, the fight was conducted under traditional boxing ruleset. The pair competed for three, three-minute rounds.
Pacquiao stepped into the ring at 45 years of age. As for Anpo, he was 17 years his junior at 28.
The official result of the fight was a draw, as Pacquiao and Anpo went the distance in their nine-minute match.
Both men would land significant strikes on one another, with neither fighter getting knocked down in the bout. Anpo was seemingly the faster of the two in the ring. However, Pacquiao was able to use his experience to adequately defend, as well as land his own shots on his opponent.
Although the bout was an exhibition, the two fighters exchanged heavy blows in the third and final round, as Anpo potentially stung Pacquiao in the final moments. Both men embraced at the end of the fight, as the crowd was clearly entertained by the showing.
Manny Pacquiao competed in 2022 exhibition against DK Yoo
Pacquiao’s outing against Anpo is not the only time he has stepped into combat sports since his professional retirement. In 2022, two years before his Rizin fight, Pacquiao competed in another exhibition bout.
The exhibition boxing match took place in South Korea in October 2022. Pacquiao took on DK Yoo, an internet star.
Fighting across six, two-minute rounds, Pacquiao would be awarded the decision victory.