“It’s been a long journey, but I never lost focus, never stopped believing in myself,” said an emotional Mario Barrios ahead of his bout against Richard Zamora in 2019. He won his first title, the WBA Regular Super Lightweight belt, later that year by defeating Botirzhon Akhmedov. Yet, he was still battling to fill out arenas. It wasn’t until his bout against Abel Ramos on the Canelo Alvarez-Jaime Munguia undercard that he performed in front of a truly packed arena. And now, he is on the verge of healing one of the biggest events of the year.

A historic fight against former eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao on July 19th, in front of an electric MGM Grand, Las Vegas. An opportunity that does not come around often, and Barrios knows that. As the fight date is getting closer, El Azteca poured his heart out, expressing what this opportunity means to him.

In a recent interview with Boxing Scene, Barrios talked about how influential the WBC welterweight title victory has been for him. Ever since he won the title, he has been part of some of the biggest events of the year, including the Canelo-Munguia PPV, followed by the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson event. “These are the fights that will be talked about long after I retire,” he stated.

He understands the significance of defending his title against a legend like Manny Pacquiao. “The fact that I’m going in there to defend my WBC world title against a legend is a great honor,” he added. Looking back at his career, the 29-2-1 fighter recalls how recently he was struggling to even fill out arenas. “It’s wild to look back at those fights, when I was fighting with practically nobody in the arena,” he recalled.

Despite headlining his first boxing PPV in 2016 and being a regular on television since 2017, his fights were limited to small arenas like San Antonio, Texas, and minor undercards. Now that is all going to change. “Now I’m headlining a PPV against Manny Pacquiao. I never take these moments for granted,” he proclaimed excitedly.

Mario Barrios is truly grateful for this opportunity. However, in no way is he going to let Manny Pacquiao walk all over him. Recently, he made his intentions clear, revealing what he expects from the Filipino’s greatest.

Manny Pacquiao bites off a bigger fight than he can handle

A few weeks ago, Finoboxing posted an interview with Mario Barrios on his Instagram page. The interviewer asked El Azteca about the opportunity to fight one of the biggest legends known to the game. “I’m stocked. I didn’t think like that sh-t was really going to happen. But I mean, we’re here. It’s obviously something that not many people have done. I’m defending my title against the legend. So I’m excited,” Barrios replied.

The interviewer pushed around and asked Barrios to name his favorite Manny Pacquiao fight. “Man, it’s so many,” the 30-year-old replied. As a Juan Manuel Marquez fan, Barrios named that tetralogy as his favorite, recalling how the duo tore each other apart in one of boxing’s greatest rivalries.

Taking it as a perfect segue, El Azteca declared that he is “expecting nothing less” from the Filipino on July 19th. He wants the prime PacMan and is confident that he can retain his belt if he sticks to the plan. However, isn’t dreaming of a prime Manny Pacquiao too much to ask? After all, he is 46 years old, coming after a four-year hiatus. His return will be under a microscope, and WBC’s decision to put him fifth in their welterweight rankings has raised eyebrows even more. Let’s hope that this return does not pan out like the recent legendary returns we have seen to put a damper on Mario Barrios’s biggest night of his career.

What do you think? Will Manny Pacquiao be able to keep up with the 30-year-old champion? Let us know your thoughts down below.