Promoter Eddie Hearn on Manny Pacquiao’s Draw Against Mario Barrios: “Not Elite Level”

Promoter Eddie Hearn says Manny Pacquiao’s draw against WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios last Saturday night was more about the fact that Barrios isn’t an “elite level” fighter.

Hearn points out that Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs) had fought to a 12-round draw last year against Abel Ramos, a veteran, and he felt he lost that fight. He believes that Pacquiao would have been out of his depth if he’d chosen Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis or Brian Norman Jr. to fight for a world title at 147.

Pacquiao Draw Proves Barrios

“That has more to do with Mario Barrios,” said Eddie Hearn to the media, reacting to 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao coming out of retirement to battle Mario Barrios to a 12-round draw. “Imagine Brian Norman would do to Pacquiao or ‘Boots’ [Ennis] would do to Pacquiao.

It would be a massacre for Pacquiao to fight Boots Ennis or Brian Norman Jr. Those guys are on a different level than Barrios. Pacquiao wouldn’t have been able to win rounds against Ennis or Norman Jr.

What would happen is the same thing that we saw when Manny was knocked cold by Juan Manuel Marquez in the sixth round in their fourth fight on December 8, 2012. Boots and Norman Jr. would get to Pacquiao a lot earlier than Marquez, and it wouldn’t require the perfect shot to do the job. They would chop him down with simple shots.

“Barrios just drew on the Jake Paul card [against Abel Ramos]. I thought he lost the fight. I was there at ringside. It was awful. It’s not elite. It’s not world championship level. Listen, respect to Pacquiao. He went in there after five years out and got a draw against a world champion,” said Hearn.

Pacquiao Wise Barrios Pick

Barrio’s awful performance against journeyman Abel Ramos last November was a clear signal that he’s not a world championship-caliber fighter. The only reason he got his hands on the WBC welterweight title is that he was elevated to that position outside of the ring. If he had to fight one of the top contenders for the belt, he’d likely have lost.

Pacquiao and his management knew what they were doing in selecting Barrios for him to fight for a world title at 147. They weren’t going to pick WBO champion Brian Norman Jr. or Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis when he still held the IBF and WBA 147-lb titles. They selected well, picking a vulnerable champion, who was emailed his belt in Barrios.