Manny Pacquiao vs Mario Barrios Betting Preview

Well, the rumours are true – Manny Pacquiao is coming out of retirement at the age of 46 to face Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight championship on July 19th in Las Vegas. It’s certainly one of the more shocking announcements of the year so far in boxing and in terms of the reaction to it, there have certainly been a lot of mixed emotions as the community attempts to wrap its head around the idea of this legendary veteran making the walk one more time.

Throughout the course of his iconic career, Manny Pacquiao achieved some wonderful things and put a lot of smiles on people’s faces along the way. He has been recognised as an absolute icon in the sport, and yet, this idea has raised more than a few eyebrows. The primary reason is because he’s 46 years old and has been retired for a good few years, but it also shouldn’t be forgotten that this is expected to be a tough contest for him.

Mario Barrios holds the WBC welterweight title and has a record of 29–2–1. While he may have losses to Gervonta Davis and Keith Thurman to his name, he’s also only 29 years old. He feels like he has something to prove to the world and if there’s one great way to do it, defeating someone with the name value of Pacquiao would certainly put his name in the spotlight.

Alas, given the time off and the kind of fights they’ve both had on their record recently, it’s hard to know which way this one is going to swing. Pacquiao will approach this with the belief that he still has what it takes to thrive at the elite level, with Barrios hoping to prove that despite his setbacks, he is still one of the best welterweights out there right now.

So whether you’re interested in Play NJ or you just want to know a bit more about the fight, we’re here to break down what we think is going to happen when these two head to Sin City.

We have no idea whether or not ‘Pacman’ still has the precision or speed necessary to compete against someone like Barrios, but we do think he needs to try and start this off in a moderate way. If he’s going to have big bursts and explosions of power, it’s going to come later in the fight, and he needs to be able to conserve his energy and try to pick up rounds on the scorecards.

Some may argue that he needs to go out there and lay it all on the line immediately, but we’re not convinced that would be the best course of action. Barrios, meanwhile, needs to get in there and dictate the terms from the word go. He is the younger, fresher guy who isn’t going to have to worry about ring rust, and if he pours it on him, we may well see a finish.

In the end, though, we do think it’ll go to a decision, with the champion Barriso retaining his crown.

Official prediction: Mario Barrios defeats Manny Pacquiao via unanimous decision