Manny Pacquiao made his return to professional boxing over the weekend, fighting to a majority draw against Mario Barrios at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The 46-year-old Filipino boxer impressed fans with his performance against the younger champion in a bout for the WBC world welterweight championship.
Two judges scored the fight 114-114, while one judge gave it to Barrios 115-113 edge to Barrios. This marked Pacquiao's first professional fight since losing to Yordenis Ugas in June decision in June 2021.
Former unified welterweight champion Keith Thurman shared his thoughts on a potential matchup between Pacquiao and Gervonta 'Tank' Davis. In an interview with Boxing News, Thurman advised against the fight:
"No [he shouldn't face Gervonta], he can get hurt."
Thurman's concern comes after Pacquiao had mentioned he'd be open to facing Davis following the Barrios fight.
Davis, the current WBA lightweight champion, will have his hands full with a rematch against Lamont Roach Jr. Their previous encounter in March ended in a split decision draw, with many fans believing Roach should have gotten the nod.
Pacquiao's comeback at 46 years old got people talking. He put on an impressive display against a younger champion, showing he still has what it takes to compete at the highest level. The majority draw result leaves the door open for various possibilities in Pacquiao's boxing future.
As the boxing world will watch closely to see how he fupcoming rematch with Roach and what might come next for both him and Pacquiao.
