Manny Pacquiao seemingly has a lot of options ahead of him following his comeback.
The Filipino boxing legend made a dramatic return to the sport at the age of 46 earlier this month when he challenged Mario Barrios for his WBC welterweight title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Heading into the fight, there were a lot of concerns that Pacquiao may be a shadow of his former self in his first professional bout since 2021, but he proved a lot of doubters wrong as he went the full 12-round distance in a competitive back and forth battle.
Many onlookers even felt that Pacquiao should have got his hand raised at the conclusion of the fight, but it wasn’t to be as the judges scored it 115-113 Barrios and 114-114 twice as the contest ended in a majority decision draw.
In the immediate aftermath it appeared that a rematch between Pacquiao and Barrios could come next, but it seems that ‘Pac-Man’ is now exploring alternative options, with Ryan Garcia‘s name mentioned as a possible opponent.
Garcia was touted for big things in his career, defeating fighters such as Javier Fortuna and Francisco Fonseca, but as of yet he has been unable to claim world honours.
If a fight between the pair was to come to fruition, multi-weight world champion James Toney is certain who would come out on top, as he revealed to ESNews that the fight would end inside the distance.
“Manny Pacquiao by knockout.”
Garcia was last in action in May when he suffered a surprise defeat to Rolly Romero, with a rematch between the pair reported to be in talks to happen next. Romero himself has also been linked to a fight with Pacquiao, and has made it clear that it would interest him.