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Sugar Ray Leonard Gives Advice to Manny Pacquiao for Mario Barrios Fight

Originally posted on KO on SI | By Apratim Banerjee | Last updated May 22, 2025 10:15 AM ET

Manny Pacquiao is set to make a stunning return to the boxing ring, taking on Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title on July 19. Pacquiao, 46, hasn't fought since his 2021 defeat against Yordenis Ugas.

His last win was in 2019 against Keith Thurman. Fans and experts have questioned Pacquiao's decision to return in his mid-40s. 'Pacman', a former eight weight world champion, is clearly not listening to the naysayers, though.

The legendary Sugar Ray Leonard has now given Pacquiao advice on the fight. Ray Leonard also come back from a long layoff in his career. However, he was much younger (30) than Pacquiao at that point. Speaking about what 'Pacman' needs to do, Ray Leonard told Fight Hub TV:

When I came back, I didn’t realize it was five years I’d been out of the ring. You got to get used to being hit. You got to get used to being trained that hard at that level. It's a lot of things, it's more mental, more psychological than it is physical.

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He added:

You have to have that heart, that feeling. Do I question that? No. Maybe he knows how to do it, maybe he knows the right thing to do it.

When asked whether it's a good idea for any boxer to return the the ring at Pacquiao's age, and after such a long layoff, Ray Leonard said:

We don't think how foolish it is, we don't think that way. Fighters don't think that way for the most part. I wish I had, but then again, you couldn't change my mind. I was ready to go in that ring.