Manny Pacquiao a match for Mario Barrios – but not Jaron Ennis?

Shawn Porter believes Manny Pacquiao will be successful if he returns to face WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios but should stay well away from Jaron Ennis.

Pacquiao’s last stint in a boxing ring came back in 2021 when, as the oldest welterweight titlist in history at the age of 40, he ultimately lost that WBA belt to Yordenis Ugas. Pacquiao, 45, has signalled his intention to break the record. The WBC added validity of sorts to his campaign by confirming they would sanction a bout with Barrios if the Filipino proved he was fit to fight. 

Former WBC champion Porter, a respected analyst for, among others, ProBox TV, has been happily retired since his defeat by Terence Crawford in November 2021 but believes that while Pacquiao may beat Barrios, he should stay away from IBF champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis. In fact, Porter advises a different career path altogether.

“As far as that [Barrios] fight goes, I’m at the point where I hate to see some of these guys come back and get in the ring,” Porter told Fight Hub TV. “It’s what they want to do – I really don’t like it. I’m trying to rewrite that narrative, once you’re retired, stay retired, find other things to do. I think Pac will come back and I think he will win that fight [against Barrios], but outside of that, Jaron [Ennis] is a fighter you stay away from.”

The welterweight division has produced some of the finest champions in the sport’s illustrious history. After his dominant win over David Avanesyan on Saturday [July 13] the sport looks to have found another in Ennis. The revered Philadelphian is aiming to unify the division and may turn to the winner of Pacquiao vs. Barrios. Porter believes that although the fight between Ennis and Pacquiao would have been a spectacle back in the day, this current version of the boxing legend isn’t good enough anymore. 

“I don’t think Pacquiao has the punch resistance to get in the ring with Boots [Ennis] anymore,” added Porter. “Once upon a time that would have been an amazing fight, based on who Boots is now and based on who Pac used to be. Pac just isn’t that guy anymore. Mario [Barrios] is too slow, takes too many punches.”