Muling pumasok sa opisyal na WBC welterweight rankings ang alamat ng boksing na si Manny Pacquiao, na ngayon ay nasa ika-5 pwesto—isang hakbang na nagbubukas ng daan para sa posibleng title fight laban kay Mario Barrios ngayong tag-init.
Pacquiao, now 46 years old and with a record of 62 wins (39 by knockout), 8 losses, and 2 draws, last fought in August 2021, where he lost to Yordenis Ugas via unanimous decision. Many believed that was the last fight of his Hall of Fame career, especially since he focused on politics—serving as a Philippine senator from 2016 to 2022 and even running for president.
Bagamat inanunsyo ang kanyang pagreretiro noong 2021, handa na ulit si Pacquiao na bumalik sa ring upang subukang makuha ang WBC 147-pound title—ang isang sinturong hindi niya nakuha sa kanyang mega-fight kontra Floyd Mayweather Jr noong 2015.
Read more:-
According to Mike Coppinger of The Ring, the fight between Pacquiao and Barrios (29-2-1, 18 KOs) is set for July 19 in Las Vegas. Barrios, 29, currently holds the WBC interim welterweight title.
In the latest WBC rankings released on Monday, Pacquiao was included in the Top 5 despite only having two exhibition bouts in the ring in the past four years—a bold step toward officially sanctioning the fight.
In the latest WBC welterweight rankings, the top four positions remain unchanged, with Devin Haney, Souleymane Cissokho, Conor Benn, and Egidijus Kavaliauskas holding steady at the summit.
Manny Pacquiao’s return at No. 5 came at the expense of Japan’s rising knockout artist Jin Sasaki, who dropped out of the rankings entirely after finalizing a bout against Brian Norman Jr. for the WBO title in Tokyo on June 19.
Raul Curiel and Thulani Mbenge retained their sixth and seventh spots, respectively. Meanwhile, Eimantas Stanionis re-entered the rankings at No. 8 following his first professional defeat to Jaron Ennis in April.
As a result, Abel Ramos and Alexis Rocha each slipped down one position to ninth and tenth, respectively. Former unified champion Josh Taylor was pushed out of the top 10 altogether, just ahead of his scheduled comeback against Ekow Essuman on May 24 in Glasgow.
Source:-