Frenchman Souleymane Cissokho is the mandatory challenger to face Barrios inside the ring. Despite that, the WBC has revealed that they would allow Pacquiao as a wild card entrant to fight Barrios for the title. Michael Benson shared a tweet on X about the situation which read, “WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has confirmed that they would approve Manny Pacquiao fighting Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight world title at age 45: “I do like the idea very much. I think Pacquiao can beat any fighter or be competitive with any fighter today.” 

While talking to Sky Sports, the WBC president asserted, “Manny Pacquiao is timeless. He’s a legend. We have great precedent of former champions coming back as long as they pass successfully all the medical examinations.” He further mentioned that it would be sensational to see the former eight-division champion back in action again. 

Manny Pacquiao wants to go out making history  

The 45-year-old boxer had announced his retirement after his loss to Ugas. However, he still participates in exhibition bouts. PacMan will be facing a Japanese kickboxer and former K-1 super lightweight champion Rukiya Anpo later this month, on July 28th. Following that, there is a high probability that he would fight Barrios in a professional bout next. Take a look at what he has to say. 

The Filipino believes that he is fit and ready to fight again as he doesn’t have any injuries as of now. Pacquiao stated, “I made history at 40 beating Keith Thurman and I feel at 45, I have a lot left in the game as I haven’t taken a lot of punishment over the last few years.” Despite his impressive record, the boxing great expressed his desire to face a youthful opponent like Barrios and said, “I want to go out making history.”

What do you make out of this? Of course, everyone wants to see Manny Pacquiao fight again. But is it the right choice to go against a 29-year-old boxer still in his prime? Share your opinions in the comments below.