How sensational would it be, how uplifting would it be, not only for Filipinos, but for Manny Pacquiao fans all over the world, if the 46 year old living legend not only managed to defeat Mario Barrios next month, but did so by KO? Well, it would be a great moment for anyone aside from Barrios and his supporters, that’s for sure.
And Justin Fortune, who is of course going to be perceived as being biased by some people as he is a member of Team-Pacquiao, says this is what will happen on July 19 in Las Vegas. Pacquiao, who is going for history as well as the WBC welterweight title, will indeed take out the “hittable” defending champion. Fortune, speaking with ES News, said Manny on the pads today is “the same as he was six or seven years ago.”
Fortune: “He hasn’t missed a beat”
“Listen, on the mitts and bags, they don’t punch back, but he looks the same as he did six or seven years ago. He hasn’t missed a beat,” Fortune said. “Barrios gets hit a lot, and he’s the last person you want to get hit a lot by. It won’t go the distance.”
Of course, Barrios has youth on his side in this fight, and in a major way at age 30. And Barrios, though perhaps hittable, is tough, he has a good chin, and he can whack himself (he has 18 KO wins from his 29 wins). If the fight turns out to be a slugfest, can Pac-Man, at age 46 and inactive for almost four years, dig down and fight fire with fire and prevail? Manny’s power might still be there, along with his accuracy, but how is his chin these days? For unless Pacquiao blasts Barrios out quickly – and that would be a sensational result, and I guess not one we can totally rule out – he WILL get hit in the July fight. Maybe more than anyone watching will be able to stand for too long.
Bottom line, Pacquiao’s is training as hard as he possibly can for the Barrios fight, and he absolutely has at the very least a puncher’s chance. But Father Time is such a tough dude to defeat. And Father Time doesn’t care about pad work or mitt work.
Can Manny roll back the years one last time, or will youth be served?
Penalosa Backs Pacquiao to Flatten Barrios: “Speed, Power, Small Gloves — Say Good Night”
Former two-weight champ Gerry Penalosa might be looked at as being at least somewhat biased in backing Manny Pacquiao to cause the sensation by defeating Mario Barrios in July, this because Penalosa is, like Pacquiao, a proud Filipino. But Penalosa, who is good friends with Pac-Man, says he thinks Manny will “take risks” in the Barrios fight and that his still-fast hands will see to it that he gets the KO win.
Plenty of people feel very strongly that Pacquiao is taking a big risk simply by taking this comeback fight at age 46, this after four years of inactivity, but Penalosa, who ruled as the WBC super-flyweight champion and later the WBO bantamweight champion, says the willingness he has to take risks will serve Manny well.
“If he hits Barrios, good night”—Penalosa backs KO shocker
“Manny will prepare for this and he will make sure he has the stamina to last for 12 rounds,” Penalosa said to GMA News. “If he hits Barrios, good night! Manny has power, the fight is for 12 rounds, he still has speed, and [the] gloves are small. What if Manny hits him first? [The] boxing is over. Manny is willing to take risks. He is worth watching because he doesn’t care as long as he hits his opponent. If he gets there first, then the fight might be over in one round.”
It would be stunning if Pacquiao came out blazing and, in a rolling back of the years, starched a slow-starting Barrios. And this may be Manny’s best chance—his only chance—of getting the win. One would think that the longer the fight goes, Pacquiao, at his age, will fade and that Barrios, the younger man by 16 years, will be able to come on strong.
Risk early or drown late—Pacquiao’s last puncher’s chance?
People are worried that Manny may take some real punishment if the July fight goes deep into the later rounds. But maybe Penalosa is right, and Pacquiao will look to take risks early so as to get home with a big punch? Pacquiao does still have power and quick hands, and he also has a puncher’s chance in this fight. Again, maybe a puncher’s chance is Manny’s only chance.
Meanwhile, another former champ, the great Roy Jones, is also giving Pacquiao a shot at winning the WBC welterweight title in July. “I give Manny a chance, you always gotta give him a chance,” Jones said to Prime Casino. “I’m backing him.”
