Manny Pacquiao and Mario Barrios weren’t shy to share their shock over what’s set to transpire July 19.

Pacquiao will look to make history again when he faces Barrios for the WBC welterweight title at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on PBC PPV on Prime Video. While Pacquiao is looking to etch his name further into the history books, boxing’s only eight-division champion echoed that he couldn’t believe he’s set to return nearly four years after his last fight.

“I never imagined that I’m back,“ Pacquiao said at a press conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Despite the accolades Pacquiao has accumulated in his career that’ll land him in the International Boxing Hall of Fame this weekend in Canasota, N.Y., he still believes a win over Barrios is important for his legacy.

“It means a lot for me and my boxing career, breaking my own record,” Pacquiao said. “But my goal is to leave a legacy to the boxing fans because that can inspire the young generation who are dreaming to be a champion.”

Barrios displayed nothing but respect for Pacquiao, though, he knows the task at hand and that he can't let that get in the way of defending his title.

“This is crazy to put into words,” Barrios said. “Come July 19, a legend is going to be across from me trying to take my WBC world title. I have all the respect for him and nothing but good things to say about him outside of the ring, but inside of there, he's just another man trying to take what's mine. It's been a long road, but I'm here and I'm the champion for a reason and I'm going to show that on July 19.”

Barrios (29-2-1, 18 KOs), 30, also noted the significance of a win over Pacquiao and what it could do for his career.

“A victory over the legend is huge for me,” he said. “It's huge for everything I'm working for, not only myself, my family, my daughter, and everything is on the line right now. I know it's a huge task at hand. He’s a legend for a reason.”

Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs), who said his bout vs Barrios won’t be a one-off, will be fighting for the first time since Aug. 21, 2021, when he lost via unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas for the super WBA welterweight title. His last win came on July 20, 2019, when he defeated Keith Thurman to become the oldest welterweight champion in history. If Pacquiao can pull off the upset, he’d break his record at 46 years old.

Despite Pacquiao’s standing in the sport, which he began as a pro in 1995, he said he’s embodying the mindset of a challenger as he looks to dethrone Barrios. The ex-champion from the Philippines also noted how much he missed the sport and that he feels his layoff with pay dividends upon his return.

"I missed boxing, Pacquiao said. "Especially this situation, getting interviewed and training camp. I missed that. ... Boxing is my passion. The way I train, the way I work hard and pushing myself to the limit is to make sure that I can give a good fight to the fans."

Barrios’ fight vs Pacquiao will mark his second time defending his WBC strap. Barrios, who was elevated to champion in 2024 after Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) vacated the title, fought to a draw vs Abel Ramos in his first title defense on Nov. 15 on the undercard of Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul.

Barrios first won the interim WBC welterweight title on Sept. 30, 2023, when he dropped Ugas twice en route to a one-sided unanimous decision victory.

The co-feature will be the rematch between Sebastian Fundora and Tim Tszyu. Their first fight last year was a brutal and bloody clash that Fundora prevailed in by split decision to become the WBA and WBC junior middleweight champion.

Fundora (22-1-1, 14 KOs)  has since defended his titles with a fourth-round stoppage of Chordale Booker on March 22 before vacating his WBA title to rematch Tszyu.

Tszyu (25-2, 18 KOs) had another shot at a world title but lost via devastating third-round stoppage to current IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev. Tsyzu returned to the win column with a fourth-round stoppage of Joey Spencer on April 5.

The undercard also features another rematch, as former WBA junior welterweight champion Isaac Cruz and Angel Fierro (23-3-2, 18 KOs) meet just five months after their Fight of the Year contender on Feb. 1. Cruz (27-3-1, 18 KOs) prevailed by unanimous decision.

Brandon Figueroa (25-2-1, 19 KOs), who will fight for the first time since losing his WBC featherweight title via unanimous decision to Stephen Fulton on Feb. 1, faces former title challenger Joet Gonzalez (27-4, 15 KOs).