While widely regarded as an “all-time legend”, Manny Pacquiao has equally been accused of swerving a world title opportunity at 147lbs. The Filipino was destined for the Hall of Fame long before his temporary retirement, having become an eight-division world champion by the time he lost to Yordenis Ugas in 2021. ‘Pac Man’ then returned to competitive action in July 2025, boxing to a somewhat contentious draw against then-WBC world champion Mario Barrios. It was therefore not beyond the realms of possibility that the 47-year-old would enter another welterweight title fight, this time bidding to reclaim his old WBA belt. He was then upgraded to full welterweight champion after Jaron Ennis, the former unified king at 147lbs, announced that he was moving up to super-welterweight.