Mario Barrios says he won’t “hesitate” to finish off the old legend Manny Pacquiao if he has him hurt on Saturday night. WBC welterweight champion Barrios (29-2-1, 18 KOs) states that if Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs) gets him in trouble, he’s not going to show mercy on him. He wants to take his WBC title from him.
Pacquiao’s Comeback: Mayweather Bait?
Pacquiao, 46, needs the WBC title to use as bait to lure 48-year-old Floyd Mayweather Jr. out of retirement to fight him. Mayweather will be ringside, and there’s speculation that he’ll climb into the ring to announce his long-awaited rematch with the Filipino star Pacquiao. That would be the ultimate joke fight, showing how far the sport has sunk.
“Four years for a fighter in his prime is a lot, but especially for someone 46,” said Mario Barrios to the Ariel Helwani channel, talking about Manny Pacquiao coming out of his four-year retirement to challenge him for his WBC title on Saturday.
Manny’s Entitled Title Shot
Four years is a lifetime for any fighter to be out of the ring, but it’s even more so for a person in their 40s like Pacquiao. We’d see the deterioration firsthand if Manny had done the right thing and taken some tune-ups to show that he’s worthy of a world title shot.
The way he’s doing it is the lazy, entitled way, being given preferential treatment. It’s obvious that if Pacquiao had to beat the top WBC contenders at welterweight, Raul Curiel and Eimantas Stanionis, he’d lose.
Pacquiao’s Speed Doubted by Barrios
“They’re saying he’s faster, and he’s rested,” said Barrios about Pacquiao. “We have been training for not a prime Pacquiao, but a Pacquiao within the last ten years. So, we have been looking at a lot of those kind of fights.”
How can Pacquiao be “faster” if he’s been retired and is now nearing 47? Unless he’s aging backwards, he’s gotten slower. Pacquiao looked good with his shadow boxing during his workouts because he wasn’t fighting anyone at the time. 58-year-old Mike Tyson had looked impressive in his video clips ahead of his fight with Jake Paul. But when he got in the ring, he was like a fossil and useless. Pacquiao will be the same on Saturday, and fans are going to feel dumb for having purchased the $79.99 event on PPV.
“It’s not a real version of him, but there are still habits that he made in those little exhibitions that were able to pick up,” said Barrios when asked if he’s watched Pacquiao’s recent exhibition bouts. “He fought another tall opponent that had reach and size over him. We weren’t looking too hard at those performances in those exhibitions.”
Pacquiao was dominated by the tall 6’0″ Japanese kickboxer Rukiya Anpo during their exhibition match last year on July 28th. Initially, Manny looked good, but then Anpo started battering him with shots. It looked like Pacquiao was ready to be knocked out at one point. This wasn’t even a real boxer he was facing. He was old and feeble inside the ring against Anpo.
Barrios: No Mercy for Pacquiao
“At any point I have him hurt, I’m not going to hesitate to pull the trigger on him because I know the old legend is in there to still take what I have,” said Barrios.
I have a strong feeling this won’t end well for Pacquiao. Barrios will start putting it on Manny, hurt him, and then unload on the 46-year-old to finish him. He’ll send him back into retirement from whence he came. It won’t be all bad for Pacquiao. His final take for the event could be over $18 million. He’s being paid like a world champion.
Last Updated on 07/16/2025
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