A bout between Manny Pacquiao and WBA Welterweight Champion Rolando Romero is in doubt after the WBA ordered Romero to begin negotiations with his mandatory challenger, Shakhram Giyasov.

The ruling puts Rolly in a difficult position, as he must either face Giyasov or risk vacating his welterweight title, unless of course Giyasov takes a step-a-side deal like he did to allow a welterweight title unification bout between Jaron Ennis and Eimantas Stanionis in April.

This has major implications for Pacquiao, who was targeting Romero for the chance to break his own record of oldest welterweight world champion in history. He previously broke the record when he defeated Keith Thurman for the WBA Welterweight Belt back in July 2019 at the age of 40, as he turns 47 in December.

To ensure he can still secure a world championship, Pacquiao could move up to 154 to face the unbeaten 22-year-old WBO champion Xander Zayas. A victory over Zayas would allow the Filipino to become the oldest super-welterweight world champion ever. While there were rumors Pacquiao could return to Top Rank for his next fight, which will be on January 24, 2026, Bob Arum has shut that down.

“I did not know about it, and I am not familiar with that story. Well, I hope so [he fights under my Top Rank promotions again], but I have not been in conversation with him. I would love to see that but again no, no,” Arum said