When Manny Pacquiao decided to come back to professional boxing at the age of 46, it could have gone one of two ways: he could have gotten destroyed or he could have stunned everyone. While his true fans weren’t completely shocked, Pacquiao put together a supremely impressive performance against Mario Barrios in his return.
A draw wasn’t enough for PacMan to claim Barrios’ WBC welterweight title, but his performance was more than enough to have Pacquiao thinking he can keep doing this for a little while longer. While nothing is official just yet, everything points to Pacquiao stepping into the ring against Rolly Romero sometime in early 2026. Romero is coming off of a big-time victory over Ryan Garcia in May.
Fighting against Romero could also set Pacquiao on a Garcia fight path, but a couple of things need to happen. Obviously, Pacquiao would need to defeat Romero and capture the WBA welterweight title. Garcia would have to win against Barrios, a title fight that will take place on February 21.
Could Manny Pacquiao and Ryan Garca meet in a welterweight title unification bout?
That would put Pacquiao and Garcia on the proper path for a unifying welterweight showdown. Of course, Romero and Barrios want their own shot at that glory, and will have a lot to say before that can happen. But Pacquiao’s advisor, Sean Gibbons, has already laid out the plan for his boxer.
There are discussions for March, Rolly (Romero) asked the WBA for an exception, so there are ongoing conversations for that fight… If Ryan (Garcia) beats (Mario) Barrios, [Manny Pacquiao against Garcia] is a natural fight.
Pacquiao turns 47 years old on December 17. If he even defeats Romero, it will already be a historic achievement.
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