The World Boxing Council (WBC) hailed Filipino boxing great Manny Pacquiao as the winner for its 2025 Comeback of the Year citation after forcing a majority draw against welterweight title holder Mario Barrios last July.
At 46 years and said to be way past his prime, the boxing’s only eight-division champion proved he still has plenty of gas left in the tank to the point of giving a champion like Barrios a serious scare.
Pacquiao came back from a four-year inactivity and remained sharp on top of the ring as two judges scored the bout 114-114 while one had Barrios winning, 115-113.
Though unsuccessful in his bid to reset his own record as the oldest welterweight champion, the WBC Best of 2025 poll, headed by its president Mauricio Sulaiman, saw the outcome as enough reason to give Pacquiao the award.
“The Filipino legend proved that he is still world class. Pacquiao returned to the ring showing flashes of the speed and power that made him a global icon, inspiring millions with his discipline despite the passage of time,” the WBC said in a statement.
Pacquiao bested Hamzah Sheeraz, Noel Mikaelyan, Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, Skye Nicolson, and Cecilia Braekhus for the citation.
Hailed as Fighter of the Year, meanwhile, was Japanese ‘Monster’ Naoya Inoue after stepping in the ring and winning convincingly four times last year.
He defeated Ye Joon Kim, Ramon Cardenas, Murodjon Akhmadaliev, and, recently, David Picasso to firmly hold the top spot in the pound-for-pound rankings.
Oleksandr Usyk’s fifth-round stoppage of Daniel Dubois was the KO of the Year, while the thrilling duel between Christian Mbili and Lester Martinez was acknowledged as the Fight of the Year.
—JMS, Alta Sports
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