Trainer Abel Sanchez says 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao will defeat WBA welterweight champion Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero if the contest happens next. Sanchez believes that Pacquiao (62-8-3, 39 KOs) will outbox Romero (17-2, 13 KOs), and will confuse him.
(Credit: Matchroom)
Pacquiao Outboxes Romero
“Yeah, I think he beats him by decision,” said trainer Abel Sanchez to Fight Hub TV when asked if he believes Manny Pacquiao would beat Rolando ‘Rolly” Romero. “I think he outboxes him. I think he has more experience. I think he confuses him.”
Like many fans, Abel believes the 46-year-old Pacquiao can still beat fighters from this era. He’s basing his opinion solely on the Barrios fight, which was not a real gauge of the top-tier fighters at welterweight.
Barrios showed his limitations in his last fight against journeyman Abel Ramos, when he was gifted a decision. Mario had been elevated to his WBC title outside of the ring in 2024. In his two fights as a champion, he’s had a pair of draws against Ramos and Pacquiao.
Rolly is far from a great fighter, and likely would lose to many of the top 10 contenders in the 147-lb division. But he still has more than enough to knock out Pacquiao or badly beat him up. He wouldn’t hold back the way Barrios did.
Garcia’s Stagnation Discussed
“Against who?” said Sanchez when asked if he didn’t think Romero looked good against Ryan Garcia. “Ryan Garcia, unfortunately, because of his fame and issues outside of the ring, he hasn’t really progressed. Yeah, he has great hand speed and punches hard, but as soon as he fights somebody that can fight back, it seems that he doesn’t do well.”
Rolly showed in his fight with Garcia that he has the power, size, and aggressive fighting style that would be trouble for anyone in the 147-lb division. He looked like a junior middleweight inside the ring and punched like one. He would do a lot of damage against Pacquiao.
“Is it because they haven’t allowed him to grow as a fighter? I don’t know. Like Deontay Wilder. A great right hand, but lacks everything else,” said Abel about Garcia.
“I think it would be a more exciting fight than the Barrios fight unless Barrios changes completely and pushes Manny a little harder,” said Sanchez about his belief that Rolly would make for a more exciting fight for Pacquiao than the Barrios one.
Pacquiao would have to eat a lot of hard punches from Rolly, and it would be difficult for him to do that without crumbling at some point. Manny looked beaten up around the face against Barrios, and he wasn’t loading up on his shots the way that Rolly would.
Last Updated on 07/22/2025
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