Trainer says Manny Pacquiao is ready for Mario Barrios, calls the fight ‘very realistic’

The proposed return of Manny Pacquiao versus WBC welterweight titleholder Mario Barrios is close, according to Barrios trainer Bob Santos.

“The fight is very realistic. Very realistic,” Santos told BoxingScene. “Manny wants the fight, we want the fight, and the WBC has already said they would approve the fight. 

“I’m sure it would take place probably in the fall. It’s just a matter of where we would do the fight, Texas or Las Vegas. But we’ve agreed that we would fight him, he’s agreed, and it’s right there on the table. Let’s see how it plays out. We’ve got to find a venue for the fight, and I think it would be great.”

Pacquaio, 45, last fought in August 2021, when he lost a welterweight title via unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas. Pacquiao would announce his retirement days later. Recently, the eight-division world champion has gotten the itch for combat again. 

Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs) is scheduled to take part in an exhibition in Japan on July 28. But the prospect of a sanctioned bout against the 29-year-old Barrios, a two-division titlist, has raised concerns about Pacquiao’s ability to compete at a high level at his age.

Santos isn’t buying it.

“Manny has earned the right, for everything he’s done in the sport,” said Santos, the 2022 Ring Magazine Trainer of the year. “A lot of people talk about, ‘He’s 45 now.’ Well, y’all are the same people that said he was 40 or 41 before he beat Keith Thurman. So, he’s earned that right if he wants to fight for a world title. He’s shown he still has good hand speed. I’ve seen some of his workouts, so if this is something he wants to do, you have to take it very seriously.

“You look at what Bernard Hopkins did at his age and in his career, Mike McCallum, Roberto Duran – a lot of great fighters. They transcend age. Sure, it catches up to you at some point, but we don’t know yet. People are like, ‘He lost to Yordenis Ugas.’ Well, guess what? He had only 10 days to prepare for Ugas because the opponent he was preparing for [Errol Spence Jr.] fell out. People have short memories. They don’t look at all the factors and what’s going on.”

A former 140-pound titlist, Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs) has won three straight since successive losses to Gervonta “Tank” Davis in June 2021 and Keith Thurman in February 2022. He last fought on the May 4 Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-Jaime Munguia card in Las Vegas, winning a 12-round unanimous decision over Fabian Maidana to defend the iInterim WBC 147-pound strap. He has since been elevated to full titleholder, with former undisputed champion Terence Crawford moving up to 154 for his next bout. 

“You have Mario Barrios, who is on the best run of his career,” Santos said. “He’s coming into his own as a fighter in a weight class he needs to be in for his fight. A Mexican who is going to bring in all the Mexican fight fans with his style. And one thing about Barrios, he doesn’t duck or dodge anybody. He comes to fight, and he puts on great fights.

“And we have Manny Pacquiao, one of the greatest to ever do it. Obviously, I like us in the fight. I think we’re going to come out with our hands raised, but we have to really be prepared and have a great, great camp. Manny is very explosive in spots. Maybe he won’t be as explosive as he was for 12 rounds, but he’s a veteran. He knows how to set traps. Remember, all it takes is one punch in this sport – people forget that. A guy like Manny could be explosive in one round and it could be ‘Good night, Irene,’ so we’ve got to be on our Ps and Qs for 12 rounds.”

Santos is confident the Pacquiao fight will be next, but he said Barrios has other options if it doesn’t come to fruition.

“There are a lot of great fights in and around 147. Barrios could also go up to 154. He’s a very, very big kid. Obviously, at 147 you have the champions. At 154, you have Sebastian Fundora, Tim Tszyu and Terence Crawford is now at 154. So, there are a lot of options for us.”

Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” back in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at [email protected].