Initiator Eddie Hearn said that the draw against WBC middleweight champion Mario Barrios last Saturday night was more about the fact that Barrios was not an “elite level” fighter.
Hearn noted that Barrios (29-2-2, 18 kos) had a 12-round fight against veteran Abel Ramos last year and he felt he lost the fight. He believes that if Pacquiao chose Jaron Boots’Ennis or Brian Norman Jr.
Pacquiao lottery proves Barrios
“It has something to do with Mario Barrios.” Eddie Hearn mediaReaction to 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao, after retirement, fought Mario Barrios for a 12-round draw. “Imagine Brian Norman doing it to Pacquiao or ‘boot’ (Ennis) on Pacquiao.
Pacquiao’s strike against Ennis or Brian Norman Jr will be a massacre. These guys are at a different level than Barrios. Pacquiao couldn’t win a round against Ennis or Norman Jr.
In the fourth fight on December 8, 2012, when Juan Manuel Marquez was knocked down by Manny in the sixth round, we saw the same thing. Boots and Norman Jr. They will cut him off with simple shots.
“Barrios just drew the Jake Paul card (versus Abel Ramos). I thought he lost. I was in the circus. It was so bad. It wasn’t elite. It wasn’t the level of the world champion. Listen, respect Pacquiao. He went there five years later and had a draw with the world champion,” Hearn said.
Pacquiao Wise Barrios
Barrio’s poor performance against Michael Ramos in November made it clear that he was not the world champion’s fighter. The only reason he won the WBC middleweight title is because he was promoted to the position outside the ring. If he had to compete with one of the top contenders for the belt, he could lose.
Pacquiao and his management knew they were choosing Barrios for him to fight for the world championship in 147. When he still has IBF and WBA 147-LB titles, they won’t choose WBO champions Brian Norman Jr. or Jaron’Boots’ Ennis. They chose a good option, choosing a weak champion who emailed his belt through email.
Last updated on July 20, 20125
