Boxing icon Manny Pacquiao appears to have one goal in mind in his continued boxing return, and it begins with conquering his own record feat.
Snapping a four-year retirement earlier this summer, Manny Pacquiao has so far failed in his bid to book his sophomore outing of this latest run following a split draw with Mario Barrios.
Unable to topple the Wisconsin native and clinch the WBC welterweight crown, Pacquiao must return to the drawing board in the division.
However, linked with another opportunity to compete for spoils at the welterweight limit, Pacquiao has a particular opponent and record in mind.
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Manny Pacquiao eyes status as the oldest welterweight world champion in history
In his final victory in the ring, Pacquiao scooped the WBA welterweight title with an upset win over Keith Thurman all the way back in 2019.
And handing the defending gold holder his first-ever pro loss following a 30 fight unbeaten run, Pacquiao became the oldest fighter at the welterweight limit to win world championship spoils at 40 years of age.
According to veteran promoter Sean Gibbons, ahead of a planned December comeback, Pacquiao wants to extend his own record with a title fight win for the same belt against the incumbent Rolly Romero — seven years after his record-breaking success.
“The goal is still the same,” Gibbons told World Boxing News. “…The goal remains: to break his own record, to make history, to win a welterweight title.
“He wants to be the oldest person to do it at 47 years old. Rolly Romero has the WBA belt, so he is the target,” Gibbons explained.
While a victory over Romero would guarantee Pacquiao’s record as the oldest welterweight world champion at 47 years of age, he still has a long way to go to beat the overall record.
Who is the oldest world champion in boxing history?
Setting the record at welterweight over six years ago, Pacquiao would need to win world championship spoils at the elderly age of 49 in order to lay claim to the overall record feat.
And the proud owner of that record is the iconic Philadelphia pugilist Bernard Hopkins, who won unified light heavyweight belts against Beibut Shumenov back in 2014, clinching the WBA and IBA crowns to add to his IBF success.