Why Manny Pacquiao believes that, even at 46, an upset could be brewing against Mario Barrios on Saturday

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As the pre-fight documentary cameras for Prime Video’s “Gloves Off” followed Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas in late May as he walked the hallways of the MGM Grand en route to the press conference announcing this weekend’s return to boxing after nearly five years, the 46-year-old living legend could be heard singing the chorus of a familiar tune.

“Forever young!” Pacquiao sang. “I want to be … forever young!”

The song in question, a 1984 synth-pop anthem by the German band Alphaville, might be considered more of a mantra fueled by wishful thinking for Pacquiao, who has also been heard singing it throughout training camp in his return to the familiar stomping grounds of the Wild Card Boxing Gym in Los Angeles and the tutelage of Hall-of-Fame trainer Freddie Roach.

Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs), the Filipino icon and eight-division champion who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame last month, is getting the old band back together ahead of Saturday when he comes out of retirement and jumps directly back into the deep end of the sport against 30-year-old WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios (29-2-1, 18 KOs) in the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions pay-per-view card (8 p.m. ET, Prime Video PPV). 

Yet, as the “Gloves Off” cameras shifted from Pacquiao singing “Forever Young” to video of him hitting pads inside the gym, the microphones picked up the “PacMan” attempting to quietly motivate himself with another mantra, of sorts, as he repeated, “Age is just a number, age is just a number. You can do it.”

Whether they watch in person at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, where Pacquiao is set to eclipse rival Floyd Mayweather for the most times fighting at the legendary boxing venue, or watching from home on PPV, fans will likely be tuning in for exactly that: the hope of seeing the fan-favorite Pacquiao turn back the clock and nostalgically remind us all of simpler days when we were younger, fearless and hopeful about the years to come. 

“The reason I came back to boxing is that I realized I can still fight,” Pacquiao said, as he stared out the window of his Las Vegas high-rise hotel window. “I still have that passion, I still have that speed. I am blessed by God. I feel happiness in my heart that I can come back here for a fight in Vegas. It’s nice, it’s what I want. 

“This victory is very important because this is very good inspiration for young kids, not only for the boxers but also for the people who have dreams. Even though I’m 46, if you are still dreaming in your life, you can make it.” 

But is it really that simple? Or has Pacquiao, by clinging to the outsized dreams and ambition that once took him from poverty as a teenager selling stolen cigarettes on the streets of General Santos City in the Philippines to a life of celebrity and influence as a global household name, made the same grave mistake as many legendary champions before him by returning one time too many to a young man’s sport known for the dire consequences that come for those who hang on for too long? 

On one hand, returning to face an active champion in his prime is an idea at 46 that’s simply ridiculous. 

Even though Pacquiao shocked the world in 2019 by becoming an unlikely finalist for fighter of the year at age 40 by handing Keith Thurman his first pro defeat to become the oldest welterweight champion in history, he returned two years later against Yordenis Ugas, a late substitute for the injured Errol Spence Jr., and looked like a shell of himself in a competitive decision loss. 

Then, after receiving just six percent of the vote to badly lose a 2022 presidential election in his native country, Pacquiao returned to boxing last summer in an ill-advised exhibition bout at 160 pounds against Rukiya Anpo that saw a visibly out-of-shape Pacquiao struggle to keep the much bigger 28-year-old kickboxer off of him. 

But on the other hand, we are talking about Manny Pacquaio, a fighter who turned pro the same year Barrios was born and somehow rose from 108 pounds all the way up to winning a world title at 154 while carrying his power with him the entire way. 

“Listen, if we were talking about anybody else besides Manny Pacquaio, we would be saying that there is a slim-to-none chance that he’s going to be competitive,” former 140-pound world champion Chris Algieri, who lost a 12-round decision to Pacquiao in 2014, told CBS Sports on Monday. “But Manny Pacquiao is something special, he’s something different. He’s one of one; there has never been [another] Manny Pacquiao and there will never be [another] Manny Pacquiao. You get that idea, kind of nostalgically, that if anyone can do it, it’s probably Manny Pacquiao. 

“How realistic do I think it is? I don’t know. We have a lot of questions.”

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Brian Campbell

At Monday’s fighter meetings, Pacquiao talked at length about how much his body and mind needed the four-year break after beginning boxing training at age 11, turning pro at 16 in 1995 and then not having a full calendar year off from fighting until 2020. And even when it comes to his flat performance against Ugas in 2021, the same fighter whom Barrios sent to retirement after beating him in 2023, Pacquiao had an alibi ready. 

“The Yordenis Ugas fight was the worst cramping in my whole career,” Pacquiao said. “After three rounds, it was so tight I could not move them. I felt like I didn’t have legs.” 

While all of that might sound like an excuse, the second half of Pacquiao’s career has been overrun by distractions surrounding the time and energy he put into his other two loves: politics and philanthropy. 

Pacquiao didn’t appear to be in super elite shape when he lost a grueling and disputed decision in 2017 to Jeff Horn in Australia only to come back in the ensuing years and look reborn against the likes of Lucas Matthysse, Adrien Broner and Thurman. Could the same be said about the build to the Ugas fight, in which Pacquiao was quietly criticized for returning to boxing after two years only to drum up publicity for his upcoming presidential campaign? 

The crazy thing about Pacquiao’s comeback at 46 is that many in boxing believe that he’s fully capable of pulling the upset, especially if he leaves no stone unturned and returns in the kind of shape he was when he fought Thurman. A big part of that surrounds the fact that Barrios, a native of San Antonio, is seen as a beatable champion who has produced plenty of up-and-down performances as an elite fighter (including defeats on the PPV level against Thurman and Gervonta “Tank” Davis). 

“If I was picking this fight against the Manny of 10 years ago, I think Barrios is tailor made,” Algieri said. “He fights heavy on that front foot, he doesn’t vary that jab enough. He engages a lot and he’s there to be hit with that straight left hand and we have seen that in his fights in the past. But we are not talking about prime Manny Pacquiao, we are talking about Manny Pacquaio at 46.

“[Barrios] is 30 and in the physical prime of his life. He’s a solid guy who has come up a lot in terms of weight classes but he has carried his power. He scores a lot of knockdowns as a welterweight. He’s able to catch guys and he’s a very sharp puncher. He’s long and tall, and I do believe he’s the tallest opponent that Manny Pacquiao has ever fought. He has a good jab and a really good left hook, particularly to the body. He likes contact and is a true Mexican warrior.”

Barrios hasn’t fought since defending his title against journeyman Abel Ramos in an all-action split draw last November on the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson undercard on Netflix. It was a performance that was seen as a disappointment for Barrios.

“It wasn’t my favorite performance that I’ve had,” Barrios said. “There were a lot of different things that went on with that training camp. Maybe Manny and his team saw a weakness. Right after that fight we got the call. I think they saw a very beatable style and that’s why we are here right now. I don’t know if it was a compliment or an insult that Pac wanted this fight. Come fight night, I’m looking to make him regret wanting me as his comeback fight.”

Barrios said he expects Pacquiao to be difficult early but that he believes youth will be served over the second half. And should the opening be there, Barrios was quick to say, “It’s either me or him, regardless of age … If I have him hurt at any point, I’m not going to hesitate.”  

With a historically strong chin and power typically being the last thing to go, Pacquiao could be well-equipped to remain competitive with Barrios but only if his gas tank at this age holds up. Algieri pointed to Pacquiao’s incredibly quick first step and ability to close the gap as a big part of that upset potential, not to mention how easily he makes adjustments on the fly. 

“[Pacquiao’s] awareness in the ring was next level,” Algieri said. “Manny Pacquiao was able to adjust better than anyone I have been in the ring with and that’s the thing that gives me a little bit of hope that this guy could probably do this because he has adjusted as his career has changed. Guys who stay in the game long have to. Look at Bernard Hopkins. The same guy he was fighting as in his 40s was not the same guy who was fighting in his 20s and 30s. As he aged, you saw the boxing IQ, more feinting, more adjustments and more ring generalship and Manny Pacquiao has those in his tool box. 

“If Manny still has that first step, if he can still fire one of those left straights right down the middle, we have got ourselves a fight. But if we see him falling off balance, getting square and having slower feet, it’s going to be a really long night.”

Should Pacquiao pull off the upset, he will join the likes of Hopkins, George Foreman and Archie Moore as boxers who have carried their championship greatness deep into their 40s. But if you ask Pacquiao how he might do it, the boyish smile and twinkle in his eyes returns to the “Forever Young” concept he has been openly attempting to speak into existence for months.   

“The power, the speed is still there, the fire in my eyes. I can say, ‘I’m back,'” Pacquiao said. “Manny Pacquiao is [full of] surprises. Since I started here in America, I always bring surprises. All those fights, I love bringing surprises. I was already a professional boxer when he was born but, the thing is, my time of boxing is not yet done.”

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