Can Pacquiao Beat Barrios?

Fellow Filipino Nonito Donaire believes that Manny Pacquiao will put on a strong performance against Mario Barrios on July 19.

Pacquiao is stepping back into the professional boxing ring for the first time since his 2021 loss to Yordenis Ugas. His last victory came in 2019 against Keith Thurman. Despite this long layoff, Pacquiao has remained active with exhibition bouts and still maintains a No. 5 ranking by the WBC.

Barrios enters the bout as the favorite due to the significant age difference. He also holds a notable size advantage, standing 6’0″ with a 71″ reach, compared to Pacquiao’s 5’5½” height and 67-inch reach. Donaire’s confidence in Pacquiao’s ability to overcome these disadvantages stems from his belief in Pacquiao’s speed, power, and experience.

Donaire Reacts

“I believe if he feints, uses his in and out, he can make the fight very different that goes to his way. “If he shows up that way, 100% for him. But if he doesn’t then Barrios is going to be the young guy who’s going to take it to the legend. But I believe that Manny has to just be who he is, use a little bit of feint, be smart, be the guy that people are afraid of, and I think he’s going to do well in that fight,” Donaire said

Manny has said that he plans on fighting two or three times more. That raises questions over who he could face next. A fight with Gervonta Davis has been talked about. However, that is unlikely, given the discrepancy in weight. Manny fights at 147, while Davis is a 135-pound fighter. Tank also has plenty to prove following his controversial majority draw in his Lamont Roach Jr. fight, as he is expected to run things back on August 16. 

The Future

While a fight with Brian Norman Jr. has also been mentioned, that would be a very big risk. Norman Jr. knocked out Jin Sasaki in his last fight to extend his record to 28-0, with 22 KOs to his name. While it would given Manny a chance to unify, there is a danger that he could suffer extensive damage. Either way, Manny has outlined his future plans. 

“I feel fast and I feel like the strength is still there. I can still do what I’ve done before in training. If anything, my team right now is trying to slow me down and making sure I get enough rest. I still want to push myself every day, but I know that I have to listen to my team. I think I have two or three more fights left. I feel like I could do this for another couple of years. But I’m just taking it one at a time. I had a lot of distractions and problems before the Yordenis Ugas fight. But right now I’m 100 per cent and there are no distractions. I’m just training and completely focused on the fight,” Pacquiao said