A signature boxing event for the fall schedule continues to gather pace as Bob Santos, the trainer for Mario Barrios, told World Boxing News this week that a prospective match involving his fighter against all-time great Manny Pacquiao could take place in “October, November.”
This follows exclusive reporting from World Boxing News throughout the last month as we said that Pacquiao was gunning for a title shot at 45 years old on May 31 and then reported days later that the WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman was open to a petition from Pacquiao for a shot at the WBC championship.
The sanctioning body voted to elevate former welterweight interim titleholder Barrios to full championship status on June 18. When this happened, word got through to Team Barrios that Pacquiao wanted to fight, and positive talks escalated between the camps.
“Once Mario was getting elevated, Pacquiao wanted to make history, and Barrios is the guy that he wants to fight for the WBC title,” Santos told World Boxing News.
“We’re all moving forward, no doubt about it,” the 2022 Trainer of the Year said. “It’s just a matter of putting together where the fight is gonna be and all the little details here and there. But Manny wants the fight, and Mario wants the fight.”
Barrios was one of the brightest prospects at Premier Boxing Champions before he ran into Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis in 2021, as he built a 26-0 record with 17 by way of knockout. But back-to-back defeats to Tank by 11th-round knockout and then Keith Thurman by decision needed a career revamp, which he accomplished with three wins in a row over Jovanie Santiago, Yordenis Ugas, and, last month, Fabian Maidana.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, built one of the most legendary careers of the modern era as he swashbuckled his way through eight weight classes, taking on a who’s who of world champions and Hall of Famers in front of sold-out arenas and hundreds of thousands if not millions, on pay-per-view.
Though Pacquiao hasn’t fought since a 2021 loss to Ugas, he has been relatively busy on the exhibition circuit, taking on South Korean martial artist DK Yoo in 2022 ahead of another unofficial match on July 28 involving Japanese kickboxer Chihiro Suzuki.
“I know Pacquiao’s got an exhibition, but he’s already started training for Mario,” Santos told us.
Santos said more broadly about the possible event: “It’s a tremendous fight from the standpoint that Pacquiao’s a legend, and Mario’s the champion.
“And then obviously, it’s great because you have Manny with all his following, you know that, with all the Filipinos who support him like none other, and then boxing fans in general who think, ‘We want to see him maybe on his last go around.’ If he wins, obviously, he’ll move forward. If he loses, then maybe he will call it a day. Then you’ve got Mario with all the Mexican fan base. Two great ethnicities in boxing. And so we think it’s going to be one hell of an event.”
The rough agreement for the two to fight, Santos said, “is there now.” However, he added: “It’s just a matter of what the exact number is going to be, who’s going to agree to what, and where the fight will be. It will [likely be] in the fall … October, November.”
Though it would be the 32nd fight of his career with experience of big events against Davis, Thurman, and Ugas, Santos said Barrios is aware it’s “the biggest thing” he’ll have done “in his career. And it’s not even close.”
Barrios “is excited,” according to Santos. “Anytime you’re gonna go in there with a legend, you just know the atmosphere is going to be insane.”
Regardless, Santos said neither he or his fighter will underestimate Pacquiao despite the 16-year age gap, and advantage in activity levels and momentum.
For Santos, every great fighter has one last great fight in them. This is something, he said, we’ve seen throughout boxing history, whether it’s Roberto Duran rolling back the years when he beat Ivan Barkley or James Toney defying critics at cruiserweight and heavyweight.
“Manny has shown he’s still got the zip on his punches because I’ve been watching him train,” said Santos. “I’ve seen some of the videos. He’s got fast hands, and one of the last things to go on a fighter is usually the punch. So he’s still got fast hands.
“Manny can do this. It’s been done in history. So don’t underestimate legends or count them out.”
Alan Dawson is World Boxing News Lead Writer, a 2 x Sports Journalist of the Year finalist, and 5 x BWAA awards winner. Follow Alan @AlanDawsonSport.
