The potential struggle between legendary Manny Pacquiao and Mario Barrios may very well be on the rocks, in line with Barrios’ coach Bob Santos.
Barrios, 29, of San Antonio, has a date with Abel Ramos for the WBC welterweight championship on the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul undercard at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on November 15.
Because it stands, Santos thinks it’s unclear whether or not the Barrios-Pacquiao struggle would occur as a result of latter’s political engagement within the Philippines’ senate.
“Manny Pacquiao needed to struggle Barrios and we needed the struggle however the struggle could not be made in time as a result of he is gonna be operating for the senate once more, I believe, in January or February,” Santos advised BoxingScene.
“So, [Pacquiao] has to deal with that, and we have now to deal with Abel Ramos after which we’ll see what the longer term holds after that.”
Barrios and eight-division champ Pacquiao had been stated to be negotiating a struggle some months again with the Filipino nice seeking to come out of retirement at age 45. Nevertheless, the negotiations did not materialize and the struggle fell via.
In his place, the 29-2 (18 KOs) Barrios is predicted to face 33-year-old Ramos, who bears a document of 28-6-2 (22 KOs), for the WBC championship. Barrios has been out of the ring since incomes a 12-round unanimous choice win over Fabian Andres Maidana 5 months in the past.
The win over Maidana prolonged Barrios’ profitable streak to 3, securing him the WBC interim championship within the course of. Previous to these wins, the San Antonio native had misplaced consecutively to Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and Keith Thurman.
Santos anticipates a troublesome struggle for Barrios in opposition to Ramos.
“I do know Abel Ramos very properly and I’ve watched him in opposition to Omar Juarez. I’ve additionally watched him in opposition to Ugas. We all know him very properly. I do know his coach Jesus Ramos very properly. I’ve seen him within the gymnasium.
“I’ve seen him prepare. I’ve watched a lot of his fights. It is gonna be a tricky struggle. Clearly, we really feel assured. We’re gonna be victorious.”
The struggle in opposition to Barrios may very well be a tall order for Ramos, who’s below stress to revive his profession after simply two wins in his final 5 bouts. Following consecutive losses to Luke Santamaria and Cody Crowley, Ramos returned to profitable methods in opposition to Juan Ramon Guzman with a fifth-round stoppage victory in April.
When requested if Ramos possesses the flexibility to harm Barrios, Santos stated “I imply, like I stated, anytime you go in in opposition to anyone, they’ve obtained two fingers identical to the opposite man. So, they’ve obtained a punch probability like anyone. Proper?
“So, you need to know that entering into. That is why when all people’s speaking about Tim Tszyu, oh, it is this, it is that, hey perhaps it is simply the case that you simply simply obtained caught with one punch you did not see coming, and that is boxing. That is what makes boxing an ideal sport.”
Bernard Neequaye is a sports activities journalist with a specialty in boxing protection. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He may be reached on X (previously Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and thru e mail at bernardneequaye@gmail.com.
