LAS VEGAS: Manny Pacquiao insisted he was back, and from a purely technical standpoint, he was correct.
Back in the ring. Back as a headliner.
But back to what he was when Pacquiao was one of the planet’s most dominant fighters, building a massive fanbase and a gold-standard resume that put him in the International Boxing Hall of Fame last month? That is the real question.
He will get a chance to answer it Saturday night when the 46-year-old from the Philippines will try to take the WBC welterweight belt from Mario Barrios. It will be Pacquiao’s first fight since losing by unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas nearly four years ago. His last victory occurred in 2019, a split decision over Keith Thurman.
“Saturday night, it’s going to be a great fight,” Pacquiao said. “It’s been a while that I’ve been out of the ring, but I’m still active and exercising all the time. I’m going to prove to everyone that I’m in great condition.
“I’ve been enjoying training camp like I did in the past, just like when I was 26 years old. The discipline is still the same. Even with my layoff, my passion is still there.”
Barrios, a 30-year-old from San Antonio, is a -275 favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook to spoil Pacquiao’s return. But he needs to bounce back from a split-decision draw on Nov. 15 against Abel Ramos that dropped his record to 29-2-1, 18 wins by knockout.
“Manny is one of a kind,” Barrios said. “He’s not an easy style to copy in training camp. We’ve gotten a lot of different southpaw looks, so I’m feeling extremely comfortable.
“It feels amazing to be in this position. I poured everything into this sport since I was (a) kid, and now I get to walk the (Las Vegas) Strip with my family and see my name all over. It’s something that I’ve always dreamed of. Now it’s my job to show why I’m going to continue to be the champion.”
The buildup to this bout hasn’t come with the usual forced hatred that envelops many title fights. The combatants even chatted during the standard face-off pose at Wednesday’s news conference and then broke into laughter.
Hard to imagine that happening at a Gervonta Davis presser.
Barrios cautioned not to read too much into the mutual respect and admiration when it comes to what the action in the ring might look like, that each boxer would bring his all.
Pacquiao enters with a resume that includes 12 world championships in eight divisions as well as a 62-8-2 record with 39 KOs. He’s considerably older and gives away about seven inches in height to the 6-foot Barrios.
Pacman is back, but how back he truly is will be revealed Saturday night.
“I’ve been a challenger many times and it’s always the same feeling,” Pacquiao said. “I’m excited to take the belt. He’s a good fighter also, but our job is to entertain the fans. We’re going to give them a real fight.”
In the co-main event, WBC super welterweight champion Sebastian Fundora (21-1-1, 14 KOs) will face Tim Tszyu (25-2, 18 KOs). Fundora emerged with a split-decision victory over Tszyu on March 30, 2024.
The WBO stripped Fundora of his belt for taking the rematch rather than face mandatory challenger Xander Zayas.
“It doesn’t matter what happened in the first fight because we have the second fight coming up,” Fundora said. “Tune in Saturday, because it’s going to be another great war.”
