Pacquiao lands in Los Angeles to announce boxing return vs Barrios
MANILA, Philippines — Manny Pacquiao, now 46 years old and who last fought professionally four years ago, is about to officially announce his boxing comeback.
The Filipino sports icon, accompanied by his family and entourage, arrived in Los Angeles Monday (Manila time) for a scheduled press conference this week to announce his fight with World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion Mario Barrios.
PACMAN IS BACK IN L.A!
— OLE (@pinoyboxingno1) May 19, 2025
Manny Pacquiao and the rest of team Pacquiao have arrived in Los Angeles to continue his training camp at the Wild Card Boxing Gym in preparation for his match against WBC Champion Mario Barrios.
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Coming off a failed bid for a Senate seat in the just-concluded 2025 midterm elections, Pacquiao has turned his attention to boxing once more, four years after announcing his retirement.
He last fought as a pro in August 2021, losing to Cuba’s Yordenis Ugas via unanimous decision. But he did not totally leave the boxing limelight, figuring in a couple of exhibition bouts — against Korean vlogger DK Yoo and Japanese kickboxer Rukiya Anpo in 2022 and 2025, respectively.
Now, Pacquiao is set to embark on his 73rd pro fight, this time against a fresher and more dangerous Barrios (29-2-1, with 18 knockouts), a Mexican-American who, at 30 years old and standing 5-foot-9, will enjoy tremendous advantages with his youth, activity and height.
Pacquiao’s boxing return has received a stamp of approval from the WBC, which even installed Pacquiao as its No. 5-ranked contender for Barrios’ belt.
Videos that circulated on social media over the weekend showed Pacquiao sweating it out on the mitts and heavy bag. With the Barrios fight to be held in July in Las Vegas, he will have over a month to get in shape.
Manny Pacquiao's long time trainer Buboy Fernandez, "We will train hard for this fight. This is a very important fight (for Manny Pacquiao)." #PacquiaoBarrios #TeamPacquiao #PBC #MPPromotions #Knuckleheads
— OLE (@pinoyboxingno1) May 19, 2025
????: Jhay Oh Otamias pic.twitter.com/FloVTS9WL0
“We can train hard for this fight. Very important fight,” Pacquiao’s childhood friend and trainer Buboy Fernandez told media members who camped at LAX’s arrival area to await Team Pacquiao’s arrival.
Reports said Pacquiao will reunite with longtime head trainer Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood to train. But neither the boxer nor Roach’s camp confirmed it will be the case.
“Freddie told me he has not heard from Manny. I haven’t either,” Fred Sterburg of Sternburg Communications, which currently represents Roach and has also done publicity work for Pacquiao, told Philstar.com in an email.
Pacquiao will reportedly head back to the Philippines after the Los Angeles presser, but will return shortly to the United States for his scheduled induction to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York in early June.
After his induction as a member of the Hall’s Class of 2025, Pacquiao is expected to remain in the US to spend the rest of the time training until the Barrios fight.
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