Boxing great Manny Pacquiao is coming out of retirement to fight Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight crown in July.

Pacquiao’s team made the announcement on Thursday, just hours after he conceded defeat in a bid for another seat in the Philippines Senate.

“His comeback aligns with his scheduled induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in June, capping a storied sports legacy that continues to inspire millions of Filipino people,” the news statement said.

It was not clear if the fight at a Las Vegas venue to be decided is a one-off or if 46-year-old Pacquiao is coming out of a four-year retirement to box full-time.

NFL

NFL owners will discuss a proposal to allow players under contract to participate in flag football when the sport makes its Olympic debut in 2028 in Los Angeles.

The league released a proposed resolution on the issue that will be considered next week by owners at the spring meetings in Minnesota.

If the resolution is approved by at least 24 of the 32 team owners, the league would be allowed to negotiate with the NFL Players Association, Olympic officials and national governing bodies on the specifics of letting NFL players participate.

TENNIS

Maybe it was the pope’s blessing. Or maybe Jannik Sinner just likes playing against Casper Ruud.

Whatever it was, the top-ranked Sinner cranked up his level to near-perfection in a 6-0, 6-1 dismantling of Ruud in the Italian Open quarterfinals in Rome a day after Sinner was granted a private audience with the new tennis-playing pope just down the road at the Vatican.

In his fourth match back after a three-month doping ban, Sinner blasted winners on the lines, finished off points with aggressive overhead smashes and never really let Ruud — one of the best clay-court players on tour — have a chance.

The seventh-ranked Ruud was coming off a title at the Madrid Open but in the first set he managed to win just seven points. The Norwegian dropped to 0-4 in his career against Sinner — and has never taken a set off the Italian. But then, nobody has taken a set off Sinner in his four matches in Rome — not bad for Sinner’s first event since he won his third Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.

Overall, Sinner won a whopping 55 of the 77 points, produced 22 winners to Ruud’s seven and had only 10 unforced errors to Ruud’s 17.

“It’s as near as perfect that I witnessed,” Ruud said. “It’s just immensely impressive. ... “It was like playing a wall that shoots 100 mph balls at you all the time,” Ruud said.

When they met at the net to shake hands after the match, Ruud appeared to be laughing at the disparity in the contest.

“You just look at the guy and say, ‘This is kind of next-level (expletive),’ ” Ruud said. “It was almost fun to witness at the same time.”

Sinner extended his winning streak to 25 matches, dating to October.

In February, Sinner agreed to a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency that raised some questions, since the three-month ban conveniently allowed him not to miss any Grand Slams and come back at his home tournament.

Rome is the last big warmup before the French Open starts on May 25.

In today’s semifinals, Sinner will play Tommy Paul, who beat Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Sinner’s victory gives host Italy two players in the last four, since Lorenzo Musetti will face Carlos Alcaraz in the other semifinal.

Jasmine Paolini, another Italian, advanced to the women’s final.

Paolini saved three set points before gaining control in a 7-5, 6-1 win over American opponent Peyton Stearns to become the first Italian woman to reach the final in Rome since her doubles partner, Sara Errani, lost the 2014 championship match to Serena Williams.

In Saturday’s final, the fifth-ranked Paolini will face No. 3 Coco Gauff, who outlasted Zheng Qinwen 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (4).

WNBA

A federal judge last week dismissed Sparks forward Dearica Hamby’s lawsuit against the WNBA, but said her litigation against the Las Vegas Aces over alleged mistreatment because of her pregnancy could continue.

Hamby filed the suit in August that alleged the Aces discriminated and retaliated against her, resulting in her January 2023 trade to the Sparks. The league and club filed motions to dismiss the lawsuit in September.

U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon wrote in his ruling that Hamby failed to prove her allegations the WNBA failed to properly investigate her claims against the Aces and didn’t renew her league marketing contract. He dismissed those claims with prejudice.

A league spokesman referred to previous comments on the subject by Commissioner Cathy Engelbert last August to ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

“We’ll obviously review this,” Engelbert said.

The judge determined Hamby proved enough to move forward with her discrimination claim against the Aces and partially with her retaliation allegations.

Hamby, an All-Star three of the past four seasons, averaged career highs of 17.3 points and 9.2 rebounds last season. She was a two-time WNBA Sixth Player of the Year for the Aces.

MOTORSPORTS

NASCAR penalized driver Chris Buescher and his Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing team for illegal modifications to the bumper of his No. 17 Ford at Kansas Speedway.

The sanctioning body docked the team 60 driver points, 60 owner points, 5 driver playoff points and 5 owner playoff points for the level one violation. It also fined the team $75,000 and suspended crew chief Scott Graves from the next two races: the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600.