Mario Barrios will look to fend off fan favorite Manny Pacquiao on July 19th to defend his WBC World Welterweight title.
Spoiling ‘Pac-Man’s’ comeback may go against some people’s predictions, but it would mean that Barrios defends his world title for the second time.
Although Barrios feels underestimated going into his fight with Pacquiao, the bookmakers see him as a wide favorite for their meeting in Las Vegas.
In 2022, Barrios faced a former Pacquiao opponent. However, the veteran fared much better against the fighter than the champion did.
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Manny Pacquiao defeated Keith Thurman in 2019 Las Vegas meeting
The last win of Pacquiao’s career came against Keith Thurman, when the welterweights met in July 2019.
Fighting in Las Vegas, it was a third consecutive win for Pacquiao, following wins over Lucas Matthysse and Adrien Broner.
Aged 40, Pacquiao challenged Thurman for his WBA World Welterweight title. The fighter from the Philippines was also looking to hand ‘One Time’ his first loss, as Thurman had a perfect 29-0 record.
Rolling back the years, Pacquiao was able to knock the champion down in the opening round. The fight would go on to end in a split decision, as it was Pacquiao who was able to improve his record to 62-7-2.
One judge scored the contest to Thurman, who was 10 years younger than a 40-year-old Pacquiao. However, two scorecards of 115-112 saw Pacquiao announced as the winner.
Mario Barrios could not follow in Manny Pacquiao’s footsteps in beating Keith Thurman
For Thurman’s next bout, he would take on current welterweight champion Barrios.
At the time, neither man was champion when they squared off in February 2022. It was Thurman’s first fight in almost three years, as Barrios was coming off a loss to Gervonta Davis.
With neither man exactly in form, a win for both men was crucial. However, it was the former Pacquiao opponent who got the better of ‘Pac-Man’s’ future foe.
The bout would not be a close one either. Seemingly in a league above Barrios on the night, Thurman ran out as a convincing winner. The judges’ scorecards were all in favor of Thurman, with tallies of 118-110, 118-110, and 117-111.
Despite being stopped in his last outing, Barrios displayed good durability in the fight with Thurman, as he was on the receiving end of huge blows. However, ‘El Azteca’ did not hit the canvas in the welterweight bout.
Knowing both fighters well, Thurman gave his opinion on Pacquiao vs Barrios. Although the fighter did not give a clear prediction, he said that Pacquiao can hurt his opponent, as well as explaining a path to victory for Barrios.