MANNY PACQUIAO has come out of retirement at the age of 46 and is targeting a world title belt, it has been claimed.
The Filipino boxer last fought back in 2021, a defeat to Yordenis Ugas, but is now gearing up for a huge welterweight clash against Mario Barrios for his next title defence.
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However, WBC chief Mauricio Sulaiman confirmed the return of the ring legend when speaking to Boxing King Media in Saudi Arabia.
He said: “At this time, Mario Barrios is going to face Manny Pacquiao in July. He (Pacquiao) wants to retire as the welterweight champion, so he’s fighting in the welterweight division.”
Asked why Pacquiao was being allowed to come straight out of retirement and have a shot at a title, Sulaiman explained it was because the WBC have written rules stating a notable former champion could request a title fight coming out of retirement.
He referenced Sugar Ray Leonard being retired for four years when he came out of retirement to fight Marvin Hagler, a fight which he won.
Sulaiman said: “We do have that provision in the rules. A legendary champion with the credentials of Pacquiao [can fight].
“He has been medically cleared and licensed, so we have voted in favour to allow that fight to happen.”
Pacquiao’s advisor, Sean Gibbons, had denied his sensational boxing comeback in an interview with Action Network explaining that he was fully focused on his election campaign as a Senator of the Philippines
In an interview published on Friday, he said: ” There is no Manny Pacquiao fights (scheduled for this year). These reports on fighting Mario Barrios are not right.
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“Manny Pacquiao is running for Senator of the Philippines on May 12. He has another election after he’s done with this election. After, he’ll decide if he wants the box again.
“That’s it, the election is the most important thing in his life not boxing. There’s been discussion for the last year and a half about fighting Mario Barrios.
“I have no idea why (there is speculation about a fight between Pacquiao and Barrios).”
A world championship welterweight belt is eventually being eyed by British boxer Conor Benn, despite his recent defeat to Chris Eubank Jr at middleweight.
Benn flew out to New York City in the United States to see Ryan Garcia take on Rolando Romero in Times Square, ending in a shock points loss for Garcia.
Despite not fighting at welterweight for three years now, Benn had said he would “happily” fight Garcia when speaking ahead of the bout.