Former world champion Manny Pacquiao dismissed concerns about his decision to come out of retirement, insisting that he still has what it takes to compete at a high level.

Pacquiao, a former eight-division world champion, will return to the ring on July 19 to challenge defending champion Mario “El Azteca” Barrios for the WBC welterweight belt at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

It will be his first professional fight since losing to Yordenis Ugas of Cuba in 2021, after which he embarked on an ill-fated campaign for the Philippine presidency.

“People say I’m too old, that I’ve done it all. But I still have the fire,” said the 46-year-old Pacquiao in a statement.

“I’m not just fighting for myself — I’m fighting for my country, and to show the world that we Filipinos never give up.”

Pacquiao and Barrios came face-to-face in a press conference in Las Vegas on Sunday, June 1 (Philippine time), with “Pacman” promising “good action” come their July 19 showdown.

“I know Barrios’ capacity. He can really entertain the fans, and we can entertain the fans on July 19th,” he said.

The former Philippine Senator said that while he took a break from professional boxing for four years, he continued to be active through basketball and badminton.

“My body is like, I feel young. I feel like young. You can see. Like I see, I always bring surprises to the fans in every fight.”

“So, this fight, I’m sure that me and Barrios, we can give a good fight to the fans,” said Pacquiao.

The 30-year-old Barrios stands at 6’0″ and will have a considerable height advantage over Pacquiao.

He brings a 29-2-1 win-loss record, with 18 of his wins coming by knockout.

Pacquiao has a 62-8-2 record.

While he has not fought professionally since 2021, he competed in a handful of exhibition matches. (ABS-CBN News)