Mario Barrios calls Manny Pacquiao the dream opponent he's always wanted

Mario Barrios has a palpable level of respect for what Manny Pacquiao is attempting to do in his comeback fight here, but what the latter has accomplished won't matter to the former when they step into the ring on July 19.

Appearing on a recent episode of Bowks Talking Bouts, Barrios covered several subjects ahead of his WBC world welterweight title defense against Manny Pacquiao in the coming weeks.

Pacquiao returns to the ring after multiple years out of competition at 46 years old to usurp his record of becoming the oldest welterweight champ in boxing history in this Barrios battle. When asked if his ideal outcome here would represent the kind of statement win that he has always dreamed of since entering the sport, Barrios said:

"Yeah, you know, for sure. I mean it wasn't realistically a name I saw myself going up against at some point [laughs]. But we're here. Pacquiao's trying to do something legendary, winning a title at his age, and it's just my job as the champion to to go in there and defend."

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He added:

"It doesn't matter how many accolades or how many world titles, everything that he has accomplished, that doesn't matter to me. At the end of the day, it's just another defense for myself. So yeah, that's exactly how I'm treating it."

Check Mario Barrios' thoughts on the magnitude of this looming Manny Pacquiao matchup below (0:42):

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Mario Barrios on whether he's feeling overlooked amid the Pacquiao comeback narrative

Mario Barrios is entering the ring as the reigning and defending WBC welterweight champion, but it seems like many pundits and fans alike are overlooking him, and even outright predicting his opponent will win, in the lead-up to this July throwdown.

When the 30-year-old titleholder was asked if he feels overlooked here going against Manny Pacquiao or if this largely pro-Pac Man rhetoric gives him a chip on his shoulder, Mario Barrios stated in the above interview:

"I think it's definitely just outside noise. I don't really pay too much attention to it. There's a lot of people obviously they're going to side with Pacquiao in the boxing world and just as a fight fan and for good reason. Like I said, everything he's accomplished in this sport, I'm not taking that away from him."

He added:

"He's a great person, he's a great figure for his country, and those are all reasons why he has such a massive fanbase and why he has that type of support. For me though, I mean it's just like I said, just another title defense for me. It's a great name to be up against and I'm just looking forward to me going out there July 19 taking care of business." [6:23]

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Edited by Subham