Manny Pacquiao looked good working out in a training clip today on social media. Still blazing fast at 46, Manny (62-8-2, 39 KOs) is preparing to challenge Mario Barrios for his WBC welterweight title on July 19th in Las Vegas. The WBC has given Pacquiao a #5 ranking despite being retired since 2021, and winless since 2019.

It doesn’t matter how fast Pacquiao is. He’s old and he’s been inactive for four years. He looked bad in his last fight, losing to Yordenis Ugas by a 12-round decision in 2021. Fans didn’t buy Manny’s excuse about having cramps in his calves. That’s an age-related thing.

Is Pacquiao Broke?

Some fans question whether Pacquiao has given away his vast fortune, and is now dead broke. However, he is still believed to be quite wealthy, having a massive mansion in Beverly Hills and other houses in Los Angeles and the Philippines.

It wouldn’t be a massive shock if Pacquiao is victorious against Barrios (29-2-1, 18 KOs) because he’s picked out the weakest of the champions at 147. Mario has been a target for fighters since he captured the WBC title. He was smart to wait for the biggest payday because he would have lost the title long ago if he had fought some decent welterweight contenders.

“It’s boxing. If you can allow a 58-year-old Mike Tyson box Jake Paul, then Manny Pacquiao coming back at 46 doesn’t look too bad, does it?” said Ricky Hatton to talkSport Boxing, reacting to Pacquiao coming back to challenge Mario Barrios for his WBC welterweight title on July  19th.

The WBC is allowing Pacquiao to challenge for a world title. They seem immune to criticism, and it’s troubling that a sanctioning body is willing to rank retired fighters so high. Fans see this as a sign that the WBC just wants to take advantage of Pacquiao’s popularity to get some attention for its title.

This move makes the WBC look like a second-rate organization. But that won’t keep fighters from wanting to capture their titles or their promoters from angling them towards that belt.

Undeserved Title Opportunity

“Manny is coming back fighting for a world title. How does Manny get his world title shot? He’s been retired. To go straight into a world title after being retired. How is that allowed? Surely, he dropped out of the rankings when he retired.

“All of a sudden, he’s making a comeback, and they’re putting him straight into the #1 contender. How could he be placed in the top 10? You’ve been retired years. He was a hell of a fire a few years back, but we don’t know what he’s going to be like see him take a couple of warmup fights and then get him in. Boxing these days, money is everything.”