Manny Pacquiao is embarking on his second attempt at a comeback on July 19th, after his first attempt in 2021 failed.
Manny Pacquiao will take on welterweight world champion Mario Barrios on July 19th, on what will be 2025’s biggest night of boxing.
This will mark Pacquiao’s second return to the ring since retiring in 2019 after his last win against Keith Thurman.
His first attempt at a comeback came against Yordenis Ugas, who filled in as a late replacement for the highly touted Errol Spence Jr.
Manny Pacquiao lost to the man who wobbled Errol Spence
In 2021, Pacquiao lost a unanimous decision against the 26-4 Ugas, who beat Terence Crawford in the amateurs.
One fight later, Spence faced Ugas after a detached retina forced the Cuban to take his place in the mega-fight.
The bout was for Spence’s unified IBF and WBC world titles, and saw a dramatic moment in round six when Spence stumbles backwards into the ropes after being hurt by Ugas.
Spence looked to the ref before the punch landed, seemingly trying to tell him something, before being struck with the blow.
As Ugas comes forward, it becomes clear Spence was talking about his mouthpiece coming out, and the referee steps in just before Ugas unleashes an onslaught on him.
The commentators could be heard criticizing the decision to pause the contest in that moment, just as Ugas was likely to see some success.
“Are you kidding me? Oh my gosh. […] This is ridiculous, how can you take the time to put the mouthpiece in in this sequence? […] That was not the right time to bring in the mouthpiece.”
Spence stopped Ugas in the tenth round after fracturing his eye socket.
Manny Pacquiao scored a 64-second knockout early in his career
Pacquiao’s quickest knockout ever came against Wook Ki Lee in 1997.
Lee was 0-5-1 at the time, and had no business sharing the ring with the 17-1 Pacquiao.
Pacquiao stopped Lee in just 64 seconds in what would be one of Lee’s last fights.
Lee never did taste victory, and retired with a record of 0-7-1.