At age 46 and facing a world titlist 16 years his junior, Manny Pacquiao has a formidable challenge to conquer before emerging with a victory over WBC welterweight belt holder Mario Barrios on July 19 in Las Vegas.
That said, there’s something that must be considered from this week’s comment from TGB Promotions head Tom Brown, who is handling the promotion for Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions’ pay-per-view card on Prime Video and PPV.COM.
“With a Pacquiao win, everything’s on the table,” Brown said.
Brown’s response was based on BoxingScene asking him if there’s any chance that Pacquiao, in the event of a title-earning win, would be able to lure his former rival from retirement.
You know the name well: Floyd Mayweather Jnr.
“Everything is possible in life,” said Pacquiao advisor Sean Gibbons, who generously estimated he has presented Mayweather with 20 rematch proposals over 10 years since the unbeaten Mayweather first defeated Pacquiao by unanimous decision in 2015, in the most lucrative prizefight in history.
“This is a strange time in boxing, and Floyd may say this is the time – with a WBC belt on the line. It makes dollars and it makes sense, and if you’re Floyd, you can’t say no to nothing.”
Mayweather, 50-0 (27 KOs), is 48 now and last fought professionally in 2017, defeating UFC champion Conor McGregor in a glorified exhibition that was boxing’s second-most lucrative fight ever.
But at least one official very close to Mayweather said it’s a slam dunk to foresee someone from PBC suggesting the match to him, because Mayweather has taken part in various exhibitions – including one against Logan Paul – since his retirement.
“Has it been discussed? No,” Brown said to BoxingScene. “Let’s see how [Pacquiao] looks. It’s a tall order to beat Mario Barrios.”
Pacquiao has declined to discuss his interest in fighting after “this one,” but those who know him best understand how deeply he wants to avenge a loss that paid him more than $300 million but occurred as he fought through a training camp shoulder injury.
Pacquiao’s ability at 46 will be told in the ring at his favorite venue, MGM Grand, in just more than a week, and an impressive showing will certainly further stoke this talk.
Already a record eight-division champion, Pacquiao being able to flex his Hall of Fame resume by adding a world title at 46 would give him a leg up in many eyes over the career accomplishments of Mayweather – something that may influence the highly competitive Mayweather to come back.
“I can’t wait for them to clear the ring and hear that first bell sound,” Brown said of Pacquiao-Barrios. “Everyone’s going to be on the edge of their seats. It’s going to be so exciting. That’s one I’m really looking forward to: What has he got?
“When those first head shots start thumping off each other … there’s never a feel-out round with Pacquiao, and Mario will trade. It could be one hell of a first round.”
Gibbons calls Pacquiao’s return for a title fight – he’s trying to join George Foreman and Bernard Hopkins as the only men to win world titles after their 45th birthdays – “one of the greatest boxing feats of all time.”
“If he does this – winning titles in four decades – it’s exceptional,” Gibbons said. “Manny still trains in 2025 like he did in 1995. He hasn’t changed. It’s all about hard work. There’s no secret to it, no difficult, futuristic machines. It’s the exact same way for the last 30 years, and it’s another version of ‘Pac-Man Mania,’ where everyone wants to be around Manny Pacquiao.
“Let’s hope Floyd Mayweather does, too.”
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.
