Manny Pacquiao hung up his boxing gloves in 2021 after suffering a shocking defeat to a last-minute opponent.
The eight-weight world champion is among the greatest boxers of all time, representing the Philippines as their greatest ever sportsman.
However, his career was winding down by 2021, despite only losing once since the points defeat to Floyd Mayweather in arguably the biggest fight in boxing history.
Manny Pacquiao was coming off the back of three wins in a row when he took to the ring in 2021, although an unsuspecting opponent pulled off a surprising win in Las Vegas.
Manny Pacquiao lost to Yordenis Ugas in his last fight before retirement
Pacquiao initially hung up his gloves for good after suffering a shock defeat at the hands of Yordenis Ugas in 2021.
“Pac-Man” was originally scheduled to battle undefeated champion Errol Spence Jr, but a torn retina less than two weeks before the fight meant a replacement needed to be drafted in.
Ugas was free after his own fight on the card was cancelled due to injury, so he put his WBA Welterweight title on the line against the legendary eight-weight champion.
That was the same belt that Pacquiao had been stripped of the year prior due to inactivity, so he had extra motivation to put Ugas away in his first fight in two years.
However, it didn’t quite go as planned. Pacquiao was a shadow of his former self, a slow and sluggish fighter who brought the same fire and intensity he had in his previous classic fights.
He threw more punches than Ugas but hit far fewer, looking one-dimensional and out of ideas against the younger, faster, and hungrier champion.
Ugas used his size advantage to keep Pacquiao at bay, his jab keeping the Filipino at arm’s length throughout the bout.
While there was no knockout in this fight, the judges unanimously awarded Ugas the win in this world title fight, shortly before Pacquiao announced his retirement from the sport.
Mario Barrios beat Yordenis Ugas to win the title Manny Pacquiao is challenging for in his comeback
Two years after his battle with Pacquiao, Ugas stepped into the ring with the Filipino’s next opponent, Mario Barrios.
The WBC Welterweight champion is due to defend his title against Pacquiao on July 19, which is the same belt he took from Ugas in their 2023 bout.
Barrios battled Ugas in a thunderous match, where the aggressive Barrios caused huge damage that saw Ugas’ eye swell shut midway through the fight.
It was a fantastic fight, one of the best of Barrios’ career, and he thoroughly earned his unanimous decision win to take home the WBC Welterweight title for himself.
Now, Pacquiao will challenge for the belt he was forced to give up, against the man who defeated the champion who forced “Pac-Man” into retirement before his comeback bout.