Icon’s Next Steps After Barrios Fight

Manny Pacquiao defied logic and father time on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. At 46 years old, he pushed Mario Barrios to the brink and fell just short of winning the WBC welterweight title as their fight was deemed a majority draw. One thing is clear, Pacquiao will fight again. What we don’t know is when, and while there is an inkling, we don’t exactly know who.

In the hours after the decision was read—one judge scoring it for Barrios, the others calling it even—the boxing world was lit up with disbelief. Fighters, fans, and media personalities didn’t just question the result; many flat-out called it a robbery. Shakur Stevenson said the “decision was crazy,” and Shawn Porter didn’t hide his disgust, saying, “I knew the BS was comin’. I’m sick.” Even Barrios, in his post-fight comments, seemed to welcome the idea of doing it again.

Pacquiao actually landed more power punches than Barrios and stunned the younger fighter multiple times with combinations that felt ripped from his prime years. Despite a four-year layoff, he looked sharper than expected and never truly faded down the stretch.

That last part—how strong he looked late—might be the most telling. This wasn’t a nostalgia cash grab. This was a 46-year-old legend going 12 hard rounds with a legit world champion and arguably winning. And it’s why talk of a rematch, or at least one more big fight, has already started. It hasn’t just started. At this point, it’s expected.

The likely scenario is a second bout with Barrios. Both men expressed interest, and it solves multiple problems at once. It gives closure to a controversial outcome, brings in PPV dollars, and lets Pacquiao mount another charge at a belt. If you’re wondering if Pacquiao is still a draw, you didn’t see, feel and hear the energy in the MGM Grand on Saturday. It was electric and his enormous fanbase is alive and well.

He may also look elsewhere—names like Keith Thurman or even Conor Benn have floated out there in conversations, though neither brings the same heat as a second run at Barrios.

There’s also a second fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. that would make both men an obscene amount of money.

If the goal is a win and another world title, a rematch makes the most sense. If the goal is a spectacle, there are other even more lucrative roads. But no matter what path he chooses, Saturday night showed Pacquiao isn’t just still capable of competing—with the right opponent, he’s still dangerous and capable of being a world champion.

What comes next might hinge on timing. He said in the post-fight interview that he’d want a longer training camp. That tells you two things: first, he wasn’t just preparing for a one-and-done return, and second, he believes there’s still room to level up. As rare of an athlete as Pacquiao is, his confidence is probably even more of a marvel.

He seems to live on a planet of blissful ignorance and that’s not an insult. In many ways, his faith and belief are what set him apart from the limitations that most of us allow to set our ceilings.

It is hard not to root for someone with that kind of fuel in their tank. What happens in the rematch? I’m not sure, but Pacquiao has already won.