Manny Pacquiao has been toying with a return to the ring for over a year now.

The Filipino fighting sensation was last out in a bruising loss to Yordenis Ugas in 2021, losing the WBA Welterweight World Title that he had won at the age of 45 – the current record for oldest champion in the division’s history.

Pacquiao was looking to break that later this year against Mario Barrios, who currently holds the WBC belt. News emerged of the potential comeback and the teams of each man confirmed it to be in discussions.

Barrios was previously a Regular champion down at super-lightweight before moving up and capturing the interim belt at 147 pounds against Ugas. He defended that status against Fabián Maidana before being upgraded to full champion when Terence Crawford vacated.

The WBC’s President Mauricio Sulaiman gave the bout his backing pending medical checks and the both sides continued to talk up the spectacle. Meanwhile, the sport’s only eight-division world champion fought in an exhibition in Japan, looking a shadow of his former self and casting doubt on his ability to return professionally at the highest level.

Pacquiao’s team was adamant that, due to political commitments, their man had to return before the end of this year. That now won’t be the case against Barrios, who will make a title defence on the undercard of Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson on November 15 in Texas.

It was clear that ‘PacMan’s ambition was the championship in this scenario, as he has been offered out by bigger names in the sport. Fans, therefore, will believe that the comeback is off entirely.

Ramos is 28-6-2 and currently ranked number eight in the division with the WBC.