Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao came close to making history back in July but now the pound-for-pound legend could have a second opportunity to break his own record as the oldest ever welterweight world champion.
Pacquiao made his comeback to professional boxing six months ago, challenging Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight world title despite his last victory coming back in 2019, much to the frustration of some of his welterweight rivals.
However, even though there were fears for Pacquiao ahead of his return, boxing’s only eight-division world champion achieved a draw against Barrios, with many viewers believing that ‘PacMan’ was unfortunate to not be awarded the win on the scorecards.
Nevertheless, the now 47-year-old has vowed to stick around and challenge for welterweight honours again, with WBA titleholder Rolando Romero being the targeted opponent for Pacquiao’s second consecutive world title challenge.
Hopes of securing a shot at Romero appear to be fading though, with Eddie Hearn admitting that he is planning a fight between Conor Benn and the WBA champion, in order to tee up a unification clash for later on in 2026.
After hearing this news, WBO welterweight world champion Devin Haney took to X to inform Sean Gibbons, manager of Pacquiao, to speak to his father, insinuating that he would offer him the opportunity to challenge for his belt.
“Sean Gibbons call Bill Haney.”
On his Instagram, Bill Haney has since revealed that he and Gibbons have shared a four-minute phone call, as fans begin to speculate whether Pacquiao would accept a shot against the standout fighter of the 147lb division.
