Manny Pacquiao simply couldn’t stay away.

Once he came up short against Yordenis Ugas in 2021, he waved goodbye to the game at 42. There didn’t appear to be anything left to accomplish. There still isn’t. But that hasn't stopped him from dusting his gloves off and returning four years later.

Officially, the former eight-division champ will return July 19 to take on WBC welterweight champ, Mario Barrios. With all due respect to Barrios, who’s carved out a nice career and walks into their matchup as the favorite, his accolades and name value don’t stack up with the rest of the top-tier opponents for Pacquiao.

If you've got the time, take a close at Pacquiao’s resume. Considering that he’s been a part of the sport since 1995, you might want to clear your schedule because it could take a while.

The titles are self-explanatory, but Pacquiao seemingly takes more pride in the all-time greats he’s fought. He struggles with ranking them, but when asked to rattle off the best he thought long and hard before giving his answer.

“Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto,” Pacquiao said to several reporters recently.

The names he rattled off are all Hall of Famers, but in the end it’s all conjecture. However, noticeably left off his list was Floyd Mayweather.

Viewed as arguably the best of his era and undoubtedly in the greatest-of-all-time conversation, Mayweather beat Pacquiao via unanimous decision in May 2015.

The two forced us to wait years to see them clash. When it finally happened, by and large, it was viewed as mundane and lackluster. It’s that reason and that reason alone why he refuses to name him as one of the best he’s ever faced.

“Floyd Mayweather was running the whole 12 rounds and he won the fight,” Pacquiao said. “How is that? I felt sorry for the fans, the fight was boring. That’s not what the fans were expecting from us.”