Manny Pacquiao proved so many people wrong when he returned to action at the age of 46.
The Filipino megastar had been retired for four years when he made a much-hyped ring comeback last month deep into his fifth decade.
PacMan didn’t take the easy route either – he went straight in at the deep end by challenging Mario Barrios for the WBC world welterweight title in Las Vegas (live on Amazon Prime Video).
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And despite many experts giving him zero chance of claiming the win and another world title, he pushed Barrios (16 years his junior) all the way to a highly controversial draw on the scorecards.
So, no world title (yet) for Manny but he has had some terrific news since fight night – this week he was installed at number 1 in the WBC’s latest welterweight rankings. Barrios of course remains the champion. We now wait to see who Pacquiao will fight next, with a Barrios rematch obviously one option.
Britain’s Conor Benn meanwhile is sitting at number 4 in the rankings – he is set to rematch Chris Eubank Jr up in weight later this year, with that bout set for November 15 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Jack Catterall is number 7 after moving up from 140lbs earlier this year.
WBC welterweight rankings
The full list for August 2025 is as follows:
- Champion: Mario Barrios
- 1. Manny Pacquiao
- 2. Souleymane Cissokho
- 3. Raul Curiel
- 4. Conor Benn
- 5. Egidijus Kavaliauskas
- 6. Thulani Mbenge
- 7. Jack Catterall
- 8. Eimantas Stanionis
- 9. Rohan Polanco
- 10. Abel Ramos
- 11. Alexis Rocha
- 12. Angel Fierro
- 13. Giovani Santillan
- 14. Karen Chukhadzhian
- 15. Samuel Molina
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