When folks start bashing Manny Pacquiao , you know something’s seriously off. Before his July 19 showdown with Mario Barrios, the 46-year-old boxing icon was slotted back into the WBC welterweight rankings at No. 5, making him eligible for a crack at the reigning champ. The move stirred up plenty of controversy, with WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman quickly calling it a mistake, but the fight went on anyway. Against all odds, the Filipino legend shocked fans with a gutsy, all-out performance. The WBC initially added Pacquiao into its ratings earlier in the summer, a placement that WBC president Mauricio Sulaimán later called a “mistake.” That sequence — initial listing, public pushback, Sulaimán’s statement — set the table for the more dramatic August ratings update.

Going toe-to-toe w

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