San Antonio welterweight Mario Barrios will indeed take on boxing legend Manny Pacquiao in a pay-per-view matchup sometime this fall.
Details are still being finalized, but it appears San Antonio welterweight Mario Barrios will indeed take on boxing legend Manny Pacquiao in a pay-per-view matchup sometime this fall. Reports of a possible WBC welterweight title fight between the two first surfaced this past week.
“We have agreed to the fight in principal,” Bob Santos, the trainer for Barrios, said Thursday. “If it’s going to come together, it needs to do so in the next 30 days,” said Sean Gibbons, president of Manny Pacquiao Promotions. “I fully expect that it will.” Some of those details aren’t exactly minor. They include settling on a date, finalizing revenue distribution and locating a host site. According to Gibbons, you can forget about a Pacquiao-Barrios world title showdown in the Alamo City. “Everybody from San Antonio comes to Las Vegas,” he said. “Nobody from Vegas goes to San Antonio. This is a Vegas fight.” And a worthy encounter, they say, despite Pacquiao’s age. Boxing’s only eight-division champion, Pacquiao is 45. He hasn’t fought in three years, since an August 2021 decision loss to Yordenis Ugas of Cuba. His last victory came against Keith Thurman in 2019 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas. At 29, Barrios is 16 years younger than Pacquiao. He earned the interim WBC 147-pound title in September by beating Ugas — the same fighter who beat Pacquiao — in the signature win of Barrios’ career. “I’m excited about the possibility of this fight being made,” Barrios said in a statement. “Manny Pacquiao is a future Hall of Famer, a legend and someone I looked up to growing up. To share the ring with him would be an honor and a dream come true.” But Santos, for one, knows what the critics will say, that even if Barrios wins, the victory will come against a 45-year-old fighter. And if he should lose to a 45-year-old? Heaven forbid. “People are going to say what they’re going to say,” said Santos, who is based in Las Vegas. “But at the end of the day, this is a huge opportunity for Mario. He gets a chance to step in the ring with one of the best fighters ever, probably one of the top five pound-for-pound fighters of all-time. “Manny Pacquiao’s a global icon. He has a tremendous amount of experience, can still move, can still punch. But I’m confident Mario can rise to the occasion.” Santos said with Terence Crawford being named champion in recess last month by the WBC and set to campaign at 154 pounds going forward, he expects Barrios to be elevated to full champion prior to a fight against Pacquiao. Not only that, Santos said this would be Barrios’ “biggest payday to date.” Barrios has won three straight since back-to-back losses to Gervonta Davis and Thurman, including a convincing victory over Ugas followed by a so-so win over Fabian Maidana his last time out. “His motivation during training camp will be a lot greater than it was training for Marcos Maidana’s little brother,” Santos said. Gibbons said Manny “simply got the itch to want to fight again, as many of the great ones do,” after retiring following the loss to Ugas. “Actually, the only reason he retired was to focus on his run for president ,” said Gibbons, noting Pacquiao was served as a senator from 2016-2022. He added that Pacquiao is always in shape, playing basketball three hours a day, four days a week. Gibbons calls Pacquiao the “Tom Brady of boxing.” Pacquiao wants to go out in triumph to cap a brilliant pro career lasting nearly three decades. “I made history at 40 by beating Keith Thurman and I feel at 45 I have a lot left in the game as I haven’t taken a lot of punishment over the last few years,” Pacquiao told ESPN.com. “I want to go out making history again.” A victory over Barrios would make Pacquiao the oldest welterweight champion ever. Pacquiao is scheduled to face MMA fighter Chihiro Suzuki in a three-round boxing exhibition July 29 in Saitama, Japan, in what figures to be a tune-up for Barrios. “Styles make fights, and Barrios has the right style for Manny,” Gibbons said. “He comes to fight and he’s not hard to hit. Plus, he’s Mexican-American. He’s a very appealing opponent. “The WBC gave Manny his first world title in 1998. He wants to close his career by winning another.” Tanajara comeback begins Saturday San Antonio lightweight Hector Tanajara launches his comeback Saturday following hernia surgery several weeks ago. He has not fought in over a year. Tanajara is scheduled to meet Frank Brown of San Antonio as part of a nine-bout card at the Boeing Center at Tech Port. Daniel Cortez of San Antonio meets Ricardo Mena of McAllen in a six-round bantamweight out in the main event. “I need a couple fights to get the rust off,” Tanajara said. “I’ve had a lot of setbacks but I’m still hungry.”
Manny Pacquiao Promotions ESPN.Com Manny Pacquiao Sean Gibbons Bob Santos Yordenis Ugas Hector Tanajara Manny Pacquiao-Barrios Chihiro Suzuki Terence Crawford Mario Daniel Cortez Keith Thurman Fabian Maidana Marcos Maidana Gervonta Davis Mexican-American Frank Brown Ricardo Mena Tom Brady Mario Barrios Las Vegas San Antonio Alamo City Heaven Cuba MGM Grand Garden Saitama Japan Tech Port Boeing Center Mcallen Philippines Hall Of Famer
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