Manny Pacquiao is returning to the squared circle on July 19, 2025, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The 46-year-old will look to snatch Mario Barrios’ WBC welterweight title in a bid to make his blockbuster comeback. However, it’s not just Barrios who needs to worry about Pacquiao’s return! Who else? WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis, of course. Why? 

Last month, Pacquiao’s advisor & right-hand man Sean Gibbons made the bombshell revelation about the Filipino boxing legend’s intentions to pursue a fight against ‘Tank’ Davis. “When he beats Mario Barrios, line em up. His dream fight is Gervonta Davis,” Gibbons told World Boxing News. He added that ‘PacMan’ has tried to make that fight for a couple of years, but the 30-year-old had an issue with fighting at 145 lbs.

Gibbons highlighted that since Gervonta Davis couldn’t beat Lamont Roach Jr., it caused further complications in the matchmaking. Since this callout, the Baltimore native hasn’t responded to Pacquiao’s challenge. However, the 46-year-old seems to have made things even worse for the 30-year-old Davis. While appearing in an interview with Fight Hub TV recently, boxing’s only eight-division champion dismissed Davis’ chances of beating two-division undisputed champion Naoya Inoue. 

“Inoue,” Pacquiao said confidently when asked about who would win a fight between Davis and Inoue if they were to figure out the weight class. When pressed to share the reason behind his verdict, Pacquiao made it clear that speed will win the fight. “Inoue is fast… Remember, in boxing, speed is the key,” Pacquiao said. 

Notably, Gervonta Davis is expected to appear in a rematch against Roach Jr. on August 16, 2025, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Though a specific venue has not been revealed quite yet. Regardless, the question is, can the fight happen?

Naoya Inoue vs. Gervonta Davis: Will it ever happen? 

The dream matchup between Naoya Inoue and Gervonta Davis has long captivated boxing fans. Both are dominant, undefeated knockout artists with elite skill sets and global followings. But despite the intrigue, Inoue recently poured cold water on the idea. In an interview with The Ring, the Japanese superstar stated that featherweight (126 lbs) will be his final stop. 

“Yes, featherweight is my limit,” said Inoue. “I’m not interested in going any higher. If I were 170 cm tall, it would be different. But there is a limit to how much I can build frame-wise… I haven’t even tried featherweight yet, so I can’t think about going higher than that.” Nevertheless, fans can continue to fantasize about the stylistic clash. But the weight gap and Inoue’s disciplined approach to his physical limits make this showdown a distant possibility, if not an impossible one.

That being said, it appears Manny Pacquiao doesn’t see Gervonta Davis beating Naoya Inoue in a boxing match because of the latter’s speed. But do you agree with him?