Manny Pacquiao is ready to return to the ring this Saturday, July 19, 2025, in a fight that marks his return to professional boxing after four years of inactivity. The fight will take place at the iconic MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the same venue that witnessed one of the most resounding defeats of the Filipino’s career against Juan Manuel Marquez and the brutal knockout in 2012.
This weekend’s fight against Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title has brought back memories of that tragic night for Manny, however, the Filipino avoided talking in depth about that sad episode of his career. “He was lucky. I was about to finish him in that round… I got careless and he gave me a lucky punch,” he told Fight Hub TV.
Marquez’s historic knockout of Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas
On December 8, 2012, Juan Manuel Marquez achieved what seemed impossible, not only to defeat Pacman, but to do so in a convincing manner. After three close and controversial fights with two wins for the Filipino and one draw, the Mexican found victory with a perfect right hand in the sixth round.
Marquez left nothing to the final decision, from the first round he proved to have a plan and even later spoke of his strategy: “From the third round I had already sent a warning … when he feints, he enters,” he said, assuring that it was not by chance but part of his boxing plan.
What does Manny Pacquiao think today about the knockout he received from Juan Manuel Marquez?
In his most recent interview, Manny Pacquiao downplayed the punch and avoided analyzing what happened tactically in that fight, he thinks it was just a mistake taken advantage of by the Mexican, while boxing experts see the KO as one of the best of all time.
Although both fighters wrote golden pages in boxing history, the long-awaited fifth fight never came because the Mexican retired, while Manny continued in the ring for a few more years.
Now, at 46 years of age, Manny Pacquiao returns to Las Vegas with the aim of taking the WBC welterweight championship and he will have to show up at the same place where he received a knockout that ended his rivalry against Juan Manuel Marquez.
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