It seems the long-swirling rumours are true: Manny Pacquiao will, at the age of 46, come back to fight WBC welterweight champ Mario Barrios this summer. As per a report from Andreas Hale of ESPN, Barrios Vs. Pacquiao will go down in Las Vegas on July 19th, the fight to be a pay-per-view affair on PBC Prime.

Pacquiao will be attempting to break his own record as the oldest ever welterweight champion, which he set by defeating Keith Thurman at the age of 40; this is Manny’s last impressive ring performance. Barrios is 29 years of age and he is coming off a draw with Abel Ramos, this in November.

Pacquiao’s numbers read an amazing 62-8-2(39), but the Filipino living legend looked pretty bad in his last actual fight, when he was decisioned by Yordenis Ugas. While Pacquiao did not looked good at all in the exhibition bout he had in 2024, this with tall kickboxer Rukiya Anpo, the bout being declared a draw, with Manny hit plenty in the bout.

Now, against the 29-2-1(18) Barrios, Pac-Man will be rolling the dice, we think, one last time. It will be interesting to see what kind of crowd this fight attracts, and how many PPV buys the fight manages to pull in; and also what fee will a fan be expected to pay for this one? Will there be an undercard of any significance to go alongside the July 19 headliner?

Will YOU be buying this fight?

It’s not out of the question that Pacquiao, who has kept himself in good physical shape and still has pretty fast hands and feet, wins this fight. But don’t go betting on it. Pacquiao’s the only one really gambling here. Gambling with his health.

For now, let’s wait for the official, official announcement, and the presser that goes along with it. Pacquiao still has millions of fans worldwide, but it is possible many of them will stay away from this fight.