There’s a fresh update for Manny Pacquiao fans. After many trials and attempts, the boxing great may finally have a fight in hand. Per the information shared by ESPN, talks are in place to bring in Manny Pacquiao and Mario Barrios to square up. However, not many fans appear enthused by the development.
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The 45-year-old former eight-division world champion had his last fight three years ago. A year later, he followed with an exhibition fight. Ever since, talks have been rife about a tentative return. The year-beginning saw rumors of Floyd Mayweather Jr. rematch spreading. Then an exhibition bout with Muay Thai legend Buakaw Banchamek appeared on the horizon, only to face an eventual cancellation and uncertain postponement.
(Re)Enter the ‘PacMan’
“A Manny Pacquiao-Mario Barrios WBC welterweight title fight is being explored for this fall in Las Vegas, MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons told ESPN,” the tweet from Mike Coppinger read. It featured a quote from Manny Pacquiao as well. The Filipino legend highlighted that he defeated Keith Thurman when he was forty. He stressed that even at age 45, there’s still a lot of boxing left in him.
A Manny Pacquiao-Mario Barrios WBC welterweight title fight is being explored for this fall in Las Vegas, MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons told ESPN. “I made history at 40 beating Keith Thurman and I feel at 45, I have a lot left in the game as I haven’t taken a lot of Show more
Given the fact that he has been out of the ring, which essentially means he is not receiving any hits, this gives him a fresh perspective on facing a new opponent. At the opposite corner, San Antonio, Texas-born Mario ‘El Azteca’ Barrios seems to have turned the tide after the Keith Thurman loss in 2022.
Last September, he defeated Yordenis Ugas to become the interim welterweight title holder. He defended his title on the May 4 Cinco de Mayo Canelo Alvarez-Jaime Munguia undercard. Talking about the tentative line-up, he shared his excitement about ‘sharing the ring’ with a living legend he grew up watching.
Manny Pacquiao fans have something to say
But outside of the boxers’ eagerness, quite a few fans, it seemed, had reservations over an aging Manny Pacquiao’s return. Let’s check out what some of them said about the news report.
This user tried to paint the scenario a bit more clearly for everyone. 29-year-old Mario Barrios is in his best shape and form. On the other hand, at age 45, Manny Pacquiao is way out of his prime. So fans who believe that the Filipino great would scale past the interim WBC welterweight champion with ease essentially do so with the prime Pacquiao in mind. But the reality is different. According to the user, any reasonable version of ‘PacMan’ would be more than enough for Barrios.
Barios is a young buck in the form of his life, manny is 45 way past his prime or semi prime. Those saying manny wins easy are think of old manny he's not that guy today. Of course any decent version of decent manny cooks him. But it's now 2024 guys.
Thanks to the attention that exhibitions and YouTube fights have been receiving, the next user pointed out that ‘PacMan’-Barrios kind of match-ups have started making frequent appearances.
Even though Manny Pacquiao happens to be the all-time favorite of this fan, he wouldn’t want him to enter the ring for such a fight.
This user suggested that Pacquiao could purse exhibition fights at this stage in his life. A line-up against Conor McGregor might prove a big draw.
Manny should just do gimmick fights at this point. Wouldn't a Pacquiao-MacGregor fight be huge?
A bigtime fan of ‘PacMan’, the following user believes that the boxing legend can defeat Mario Barrios. But he won’t be able to repeat the feat against Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
Pacquiao’s thoughts on a ring return appear understandable. Boxing is passing through a phase where boxing legends in their fifties, way past their prime, display energy to fight opponents much younger in age. But explain that to a die-hard fan!
In a career that spanned over two decades, Manny Pacquiao has achieved what many champions can only dream of. Probably the fans’ concerns stem from the oft-stated fact that the ‘PacMan’ has barely anything left to prove; hence, he should rather enjoy his retirement or, like his former rival ‘Money’ Mayweather, go around fighting exhibitions.
What’s your take on the Pacquiao-Barrios line-up? Do you agree with the prevailing sentiments, as shown by some of the comments?