It might be Manny Pacquiao – a living legend whose career speaks for itself – but after a layoff of three years, at 45 years old he should not be invited to bypass all of the contenders and walk straight into a world-title fight.

It wouldn’t be fair on the other welterweights. It would also further undermine the rankings systems we’re often expected to buy into. If a retired fighter can walk into a world-title fight in those circumstances, why are active fighters having to work so hard to climb the rankings?

George Foreman was 42 years old when, in 1991, he challenged Evander Holyfield for the world heavyweight title, but that fight was the 25th of his comeback. There was no relying on his name and his past fights with Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier to secure that opportunity immediately – and not only was that the right way for him to climb the rankings, it was also the most responsible approach in the context of his health. 

Ageing fighters are at an increased risk of suffering brain damage. That risk is intensified when, like Pacquiao, the ageing fighter hasn’t been in the ring, or even the gym. Lennox Lewis once said that after a lengthy period of inactivity, the first times a fighter gets hit they will suffer from concussion, and I’ve heard a lot of other fighters speak similarly. The human body becomes accustomed to not getting punched – particularly when it’s not even been involved in lower-level fights.

Mauricio Sulaiman, the president of the WBC who is being so encouraging of Pacquiao, made the comparison with Vitali Klitschko returning from retirement and defeating Samuel Peter in 2008. Klitschko was forced into that retirement by a knee injury. Pacquiao retired after a poor performance, in defeat by Yordenis Ugas – and that was three years ago. He stopped fighting because he was no longer fighting like the fighter we’d come to recognise as among the greatest of all time. What grounds are there to expect him to be any better than he was against Ugas in 2021?

Pacquiao was a terrific fighter at 126lbs and 130lbs; his fights with Juan Manuel Marquez were phenomenal. He was equally impressive at welterweight on the night in 2009 when he dominated and stopped Miguel Cotto. Which means that the most recent showing of him at his very peak was 15 years ago.

If it was Pacquiao’s great rival Floyd Mayweather being encouraged to return, it might be relevant that Mayweather had a less punishing career and had the fighting style that can still be effective at an older age. Even more relevant is the fact that Mayweather has remained active via his involvement in exhibitions. Those exhibitions may have represented little more than glorified sparring sessions, but he’s still been taking punches and blocking others on his gloves – and even then I wouldn’t want to see him walk straight back into a fight for a world title.

The last great night of Pacquiao’s great career came when he beat the then-undefeated Keith Thurman in 2019. He got hit a lot that night – he had to, because he fought a world-class, aggressive fighter. If Pacquiao fights Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title he’s not going to suddenly be a defensive genius – he’s going to have to fight.

The night we fought in 2014 he remained a fantastic fighter. So much so I was surprised by his boxing skills – his footwork; his ability to change speed; his use of broken rhythm; his situational awareness. I’d considered him more of a come-forward fighter, who was explosive and physical, but that night he showed a lot of boxing abilities. By the time he fought Ugas he was completely different – and to the extent it was difficult to watch him. Ugas was a very, very good fighter – for many years, world class. But a fighter of Pacquiao’s abilities shouldn’t have been losing to him. Particularly given the thought of him defeating Thurman and then retiring would have been close to Roy Jones Jr retiring after defeating John Ruiz. 

At 29 years old Barrios is a good, improving and dangerous fighter who’s at his physical peak. He looked very good when defeating Ugas a year ago – he produced his most complete performance to date, showed a very good jab, and hit hard – and is sufficiently youthful and energetic to force the pace of a fight. His trainer, Bob Santos, also speaks very, very highly of him. 

Sulaiman’s speaking as he is for shock value. Not unlike Jake Paul fighting Mike Tyson, he’s pursuing name recognition. Sulaiman knows that mentions of Pacquiao’s name will command attention. He’ll see a WBC title fight involving Pacquiao as good business. But the WBC should care more about their rankings, and about the other fighters in them.

The world’s best welterweight, Jaron “Boots” Ennis, makes the first defence of his title on Saturday against David Avanesyan at the Wells Fargo Center in his home city of Philadelphia. Anytime he fights it’s a spectacle, so the fact that Matchroom are bringing him back to not only his home city but somewhere with such a great boxing history is incredibly positive. It’s also something the sport needs to do more of – as long as Ennis performs as he is expected to.

Avanesyan is a solid contender, but even if he’s a little past his peak, he represents a litmus test for Ennis. What’s relevant is how Ennis’ performance compares to Terence Crawford when he defeated Avanesyan in 2022. I expect Ennis to win in the middle rounds.