PACQUIAO RETURNS TO RING JANUARY 24 WITH WBA CHAMPION ROMERO IN SIGHT

Learning from his July comeback fight that ended in a draw, boxing legend Manny Pacquiao plans to have a longer training camp for his next bout

PUNCH. Manny Pacquiao fights Mario Barrios at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

STEPHEN R. SYLVANIE/IMAGN IMAGES/REUTERS

MANILA, Philippines – Manny Pacquiao is returning to the ring on January 24, 2026, in the United States.

Boxing’s lone eight-division world champion announced his second comeback bout in Las Vegas on social media on Tuesday, October 7 (Wednesday, October 8, Philippine time).

Although Pacquiao, already inducted into the sports Hall of Fame, did not mention his opponent, Rolando Romero looms large.

The video announcement was posted by Indistry Media, a global streaming network and entertainment agency. 

Pacquiao, who’ll be 47 years old on fight night, wants another crown, and Romero’s World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight belt is a logical target.

A few hours after Pacquiao’s announcement made the rounds, Ring Magazine posted a video of Romero throwing combinations to an imagined foe in the streets of London.

Viva Promotions then posted a photo of Pacquiao showing off his still well-chiseled physique.

“Hello to all my boxing fans. I’m excited to let you know that I will be returning to the ring January 24 in Las Vegas,” Pacquiao said in the video. “It is going to be an exciting and special event. Stay tuned. More news to come on my opponent in the next few days.”

After virtually four years of inactivity, Pacquiao sought Mario Barrios’ World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight title last July 19 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Despite only six months of intense training, Pacquiao did so well that sports pundits thought that he won. Barrios pulled off a majority draw.

Learning from that experience, Pacquiao said he would have a longer training camp, at least eight weeks, for his next bout.

Pacquiao is expected to return to the United States in November as Manny Pacquiao Promotions is making its initial foray in California on November 29, 2025, with his son, Jimuel, making his professional debut.

- ROY LUARCA

ALI'S 'THRILLER IN MANILA' TRUNKS POISED TO SELL FOR $6 MILLION AT AUCTION

Reuters 

 Muhammad Ali's white satin boxing trunks from his epic 'Thrilla in Manila' bout with rival Joe Frazier went up for auction on Thursday and are expected to sell for upwards of $6 million.

Auction house Sotheby's said the trunks from the October 1975 bout in the Philippines, which was won by Ali and marked a brutal finish to perhaps the greatest trilogy in boxing history, will be up for auction until April 12.

The trunks, which feature a black trim at the waistband and black piping running down the side of each leg, are inscribed by Ali's assistant trainer and corner man, Drew "Bundini" Brown and signed by Ali in black Sharpie.

According to Sotheby's, the trunks were auctioned in 1988 from Bundini's storage locker after his death for around $1,000 and have since made their way through the auction market. They were last auctioned in 2012 for just over $150,000.

In the sweltering heat of a Philippine afternoon, the world of boxing witnessed a brutal spectacle as Ali and Frazier fought each other for the third and final time in a clash of wills that etched itself into the annals of sporting history.

Reuters 

In what proved to be a frightfully punishing encounter, Ali retained the heavyweight crown when Frazier's trainer would not allow his fighter to answer the bell for the 15th round.

After the most trying fight of his storied career, Ali said it was the closest thing to death that he had ever felt.

In the first of three bouts between the two boxers, Frazier broke Ali's unbeaten record when he knocked him down with a left hook in the 15th round en route to winning by unanimous decision in March 1971.

Ali got revenge when he outpunched Frazier for a unanimous 12-round decision in January 1974, setting the stage for the 'Thrilla in Manila' nearly two years later.

Ali, whose record-setting boxing career, unprecedented flair for showmanship and controversial stands made him one of the best-known figures of the 20th century, died in June 2016 aged 74 of septic shock due to unspecified natural causes.

- Reuters 

BASKETBALL GERMANY BEAT SERBIA TO WIN WORLD CUP FOR FIRST TIME

Reuters 

Germany won their first-ever FIBA Basketball World Cup title by beating undermanned Serbia 83-77 in a slugfest of the two European powerhouses on Sunday in Manila.

Germany leaned on a 22-10 surge in the third quarter, orchestrated by brothers Franz and Moritz Wagner, to build a cushion and win the World Cup's first all-European final since 2006.

The tournament most valuable player Dennis Schroder carried Germany with a game-high 28 points, way above his average of 17.9 points per game, and added two rebounds and two assists.

FAVOURITES UNITED STATES, SPAIN START WORLD CUP CAMPAIGN WITH ROUTS

Reuters 

The United States and top-ranked Spain opened their FIBA Basketball World Cup campaigns with landslide wins as only one of eight group games was a close-run affair on Saturday.

Second-ranked Team USA started their quest for a record sixth basketball World Cup crown by overcoming a slow start against New Zealand to win 99-72 in Manila.

F1 ACADEMY DRIVER BIANCA BUSTAMANTE ON LIFE IN THE FAST LANE

A month on from her historic F1 Academy race win in Valencia, Bianca Bustamante still can't believe it. The Filipina driver has made a remarkable journey from her homeland to the racetrack.

"When I won, it was like the whole world suddenly exploded," Bustamante told DW.

The 18-year-old received a message from the president of the Philippines, had a resolution voiced on the country's senate floor and saw her face splashed across an enormous billboard on the busiest street in Manila.

"I honestly didn't know how to react. I wasn't expecting the effect would be this much. It was really a crazy moment for me. To experience all this stuff at 18, sometimes I think it's a bit too much," she said.

It would be easy to dismiss this response as classic athlete hyperbole, but Bustamante's journey to this point explains why the tears flowed and the country celebrated when the teenager stood on the podium.