Manny Pacquiao apparently leaves Mothballs to challenge the challenge of the WBC WBC Master Mario Barrios on July 19 in Las Vegas. 46-year-old former world champion of eight, Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KO), will fight for the first time in four years from 2021, looking for the first victory in six years from 2019. Although Pacquiao does not occupy the 15 best, WBC rules allow former masters to be a challenge for their global retirement titles.
Debate about meritocracy
Boxing fans in social media are divided into their thoughts on Pacquiao, who received the title without earning. People who are Pacquiao fans love this idea and do not see it back, fighting for the weakest link among belt owners at the age of 147. In Flipside, critics feel that this is a bad move for Sport Meritocracy. Fighters should get the title shots, not give them on the basis of what they did ten years ago.
“Breaking: Boxing Superstar Manny Pacquiao will end his almost four years of retirement, heading to Mario Barrios for WBC Wytreight Championships on July 19 in Las Vegas, the sources confirmed Andreas Hale on Thursday,” informs Espn Ringside on X.
There is no guarantee that Pacquiao will succeed against 29-year-old Barrio (29-2-1, 18 KO). While Manny definitely chooses the weakest masters at the age of 147, he is not juvenile enough and busy enough to win well. Pacquiao looked badly washed in his last fight in 2021, losing to Yordenis Ugas with a 12-round decision.
He blamed his defense for cramps in his calves against too much running in a training camp. He just looked too antique and moving for two years outside the ring. Uga dominated Pacquiao in this fight.
Barrios is wounded by Pacquiao. We hope that the judge quickly enters if it looks like manny is fighting. Leaving a 46-year-old to absorb punishment would not be a good idea.
Theme
It is not clear what the target is Pacquiao. Some fans on social media believe that Pacquiao has issued a fortune, which he received from the fight of Mayweather in his political career, and is now forced to return to the ring.
If Pacquiao blew up all his money on becoming a senator, it is disappointing. In 2015 he made a fortune of Floyd Mayweather Jr. The fight was not entertaining at all, and both fighters looked bad above the hill, and Mayweather made an absolute minimum to win.
Gervonta Davis may finally be preparing to return to boxing after unexpected comments during Adrien Broner’s latest Kick broadcast revealed that the lightweight star has returned to training.
During a conversation broadcast live on the broadcast, veteran coach Kevin Cunningham appeared to casually inform Broner that Davis had recently been to the gym before the pair arrived.
“You know your boy was here,” Cunningham told Broner.
“Oh,” Broner replied before asking, “Really? Did he stop?”
“He’s training…” Cunningham added.
The exchange immediately sparked speculation online that Davis had quietly resumed preparations for a comeback after months of uncertainty about his future.
The return of Gervonta Davis
Davis has remained largely out of the spotlight since his controversial draw with Lamont Roach and the ongoing legal issues surrounding the Pound for Pound star outside the ring.
As WBN previously reported, surveillance footage related to Davis’ ongoing civil case was made public earlier this year, increasing scrutiny over the former lightweight champion’s future and legal situation.
At the same time, there are still some major fighting possibilities floating around behind the scenes.
WBN recently revealed that Vasily Lomachenko’s potential return could reignite the unfinished superfight that ended in 2024 when the Ukrainian retired from boxing.
For Davis, just returning to training changes the conversation.
The lightweight division continues to operate without him, with names like Shakur Stevenson, Isaac Cruz, Floyd Schofield and Roach remaining linked to possible future fights.
Esther Lin
Stream Adrien Broner
The irony is that Broner stopped streaming with Deen the Great and started training with Cunningham himself, which he also broadcast to thousands of viewers online.
The footage immediately led many fans to question why Broner wasn’t doing more in the latter years of his career.
At 37 years venerable, Broner seemed to have some time left when he signed with Don King in 2023. Three years later, he fought only two fights, and the last one ended in defeat against Blair Cobbs.
Like Broner, Davis also struggled with inactivity and motivation, but looked like a million bucks on the pads.
During an eye-opening interview in 2025, Davis admitted that he needed to “rehabilitate” himself after several arrests and told Dan Cannobio of the Inside Boxing Show that the process meant getting “all boxing” out of his system, perhaps permanently.
Shortly thereafter, Davis signed a contract to fight Jake Paul before the fight resulted in modern legal problems surrounding the Baltimore fighter.
Now Davis appears to be considering whether another comeback attempt will complicate the legal process that still hangs over his career.
Despite the uncertainty, one chance exchange on Broner’s broadcast may have finally confirmed that Davis is at least returning to boxing rather than further away from it.
About the author
Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.
Anthony Joshua’s mindset has changed with his July return to fighting, and Eddie Hearn says the former heavyweight champion is finally speaking with complete certainty about what he wants next.
Hearn revealed that Joshua is no longer taking the cautious “one fight at a time” approach that has defined much of his recent career. Instead, he claims that AJ is openly talking about destroying Kristian Prenga, knocking out Tyson Fury and becoming heavyweight champion again.
“I have never seen him with such clarity about what he is doing, where he is and what he wants to do,” Eddie Hearn told iFL TV about Joshua.
“He’s basically saying, ‘I want to hurt Prenga. I want to destroy him, and then I want to knock out Tyson Fury, and then I want to try to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.’
“He always said, ‘I’m focused on July 25 and I’m not looking beyond that date.’ He looks beyond it. He has a plan. He has faith in what he is doing now, which makes him excited about the future.
Hearn said Joshua’s mentality and motivation now remind him of a player still chasing greatness, rather than someone content with what he has already achieved.
“He’s training harder now than ever before. He wants it more now than when he had nothing,” Hearn said.
“That’s the sign of a winner. That’s the sign of a true competitor. You don’t put yourself through what he goes through day after day for no reason. He wants it bad.”
Hearn also believes Joshua’s renewed hunger makes him risky again in the heavyweight division after years of criticism over his confidence and mentality following defeats to Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois.
Olly Campbell is a boxing journalist covering this sport since 2014, providing reports from the ring and technical analyzes of the most vital fights. His work focuses on fighter tendencies, tactical adjustments and the details that shape high-level competition.
Oleksandr Usyk improved his results in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. Now one of only two other men to have reigned in both divisions, David Haye, has shared how he thinks the Ukrainian would fare against the heavyweight icons.
Usyk captured the undisputed cruiserweight crown, scoring away wins over Krzysztof Głowacki, Mairis Briedis and Murat Gassiew, winning all four world titles.
It is his current heavyweight streak that has made Usyk a global superstar, defeating Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Daniel Dubois twice to become the undisputed heavyweight champion twice.
As a result, the undefeated 39-year-old has established himself as the preeminent heavyweight of his generation, and Haye answered the question of whether Usyk could have performed similarly in stronger times like the 1990s. Boxing Scene that in his opinion the Ukrainian would “find a way”.
– Usyk, put them in there with [Evander] Holyfield, [Mike] Tyson and Lennox [Lewis]would hang out with the best of them.”
“He would find a way. He consistently showed that he beat every guy in and around his era. It’s difficult not to be a fan of someone who did that.”
“It would be the same as beating Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Vitali Klitschko or anyone else.”
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