Manny Pacquiao and Marios Barrios are set to square off this summer.
Boxing icon Pacquiao will make a sensational return to the sport at the age of 46 to challenge Barrios for his WBC welterweight title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on July 19.
It’s a belt that Ugas has held since June 2024, after the WBC interim title he initially won against Yordenis Ugas in September 2023 was elevated to the full title.
Ugas was also the last man that ‘Pac-Man’ fought back in August 2021, with the Cuban boxer beating ‘Pac-Man’ by unanimous decision in their WBA welterweight title clash.
As one of only two men that has fought both Pacquiao and Barrios, Ugas knows each fighter extremely well, and has now given his take to the BoxeoUrbanoNetwork on the match-up, admitting that he thinks it could be a big risk for Barrios.
“It could be a lose-lose situation. If he wins, people will say, ‘Pacquiao was old.’ If he loses, they’ll say, ‘You lost to an old man.’
“Barrios is taking a big risk. I fought Pacquiao when he was coming off a huge win. He had just beaten the top welterweight at the time in 2019. This time it’s harder. Pacquiao’s coming off a four-year layoff and a loss. We’ll see. It’ll be a good fight, though.”
Should ‘Pac-Man’ be victorious against Barrios, he would break the record as the oldest welterweight world champion in history, a record he initially set himself with a victory over Keith Thurman back in July 2019.
