Trainer: Manny recovers movement from his ‘greatest fight’
LAS VEGAS—Manny Pacquiao ranked his stoppage of Oscar De La Hoya in 2008 as the “greatest victory” of his career.
Trainer Buboy Fernandez sees an encore of that Pacquiao masterclass coming 17 years later against Mario Barrios on Saturday at MGM Grand—the very same venue where he obliterated De La Hoya in a dazzling display of hand speed, accuracy and footwork.
“They have doubts because he’s 46 years old, but age is just a number. And the way he’s going to move [during the fight], you’d think you’re watching a replay of his fight against De La Hoya,” Fernandez said in Filipino.
Pacquiao dealt De La Hoya punishment for eight rounds before the Golden Boy was forced to quit on his stool.
Fernandez doesn’t think Barrios would even last that long, especially if he gets tagged by a definitive left hand by Pacquiao.
“First three rounds? There’s going to be a knockout, we’re going home early,” Fernandez said in Filipino.
But while Pacquiao’s camp is anticipating a vintage performance by the eight-division champion, Barrios’ team is seeking to replicate the success of the Filipino boxing legend’s greatest nemesis.
“We watched a lot of Marquez obviously for this fight,” said Barrios’ trainer Bob Santos.
No fighter caused more problems for Pacquiao than the Mexican master counterpuncher Juan Manuel Marquez.
The two fierce rivals delivered four epic battles that began with a split draw in 2004 and emphatically ended in 2012 when Marquez knocked out Pacquiao with just a second left in the sixth round.
That brutal KO win by Marquez was also memorable for Barrios, who grew up idolizing the Mexican great.
“I was always a big Marquez fan growing up. Watching all their wars, I was 16 or 17 when Marquez knocked him out. I was here at MGM. That was definitely one of my favorites,” said the Mexican American, who is staking his WBC welterweight strap.
Santos, however, knows that following Marquez’s blueprint might still not be enough to figure out and beat an unpredictable fighter like Pacquiao.
“But that’s the thing with Manny Pacquiao if you look at how he fought Marquez then look at how he fought (Keith) Thurman completely different,” Santos said.
“And so that’s where we’re at a disadvantage because Manny has close to 70 fights or so. He has so much experience and he can fight you in a plethora of different ways and that’s the challenge.”
Pacquiao and Barrios shared smiles and exchanged pleasantries during the final press conference on Wednesday.
But there won’t be any more of such come fight night with a world title on the line and history at stake.
“I don’t go in the ring to get a knockout but I go in there with bad intentions. I have power in both hands. If I see him hurt, I will pull the trigger and it’s going to be the same for him. it’s just business,” said Barrios.
“I’ve been a challenger for many times. It’s the same feeling, I’m excited to win the belt and give a good fight,” said Pacquiao. “Our job is to entertain the fans with a real fight. Not a boring fight. I know that we can create and give a good fight to the fans. Im pretty sure of that because we trained hard for this fight.”
