Manny Pacquiao is ending his two-year absence from the prize-ring in dramatic fashion. The eight-division world champion from the Philippines will face Errol Spence Jr on 21 August in Las Vegas at a venue to be determined. Both fighters announced the fight on their social media feeds on Friday afternoon with a source close to the promotion independently confirming to the Guardian the fight was a “done deal”. The 42-year-old Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs), the only man in boxing history to capture world titles in eight different weight classes, is coming off a signature win over then-undefeated Keith Thurman to win the World Boxing Association’s version of the welterweight title in July 2019. The WBA later designed him a champion-in-recess due to his inactivity. Spence (27-0, 21 KOs), a 2012 US Olympian and native of the Dallas suburb of DeSoto, holds the International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Council titles at 147lbs and is widely regarded as one of the world’s best pound-for-pound boxers. The 30-year-old’s professional career was thrown in turmoil when he was involved in a high-speed Ferrari crash that landed him in intensive care in October 2019, though he was dominant in his first outing since the incident: a one-sided unanimous decision over Danny Garcia in December 2020. For Pacquiao, a senator in the Philippines who has mulled a future run for president, it could be the final fight of a Hall of Fame career. And it won’t be easy: Spence, who is considered by many to be the world’s best boxer regardless of weight, will enjoy advantages of 4in in height and 5in in reach on the night.