Formidable foe

In the eyes of the ever-influential American boxing man Sean Gibbons, Manny Pacquiao isn’t exactly fighting just Mario Barrios on 19 July in Las Vegas.

Gibbons, who has been attending the training camp of Pacquiao since Day One, believes Barrios is just one of two opponents:

The other, well, is age.

“We are battling Father Time and he’s a tough one but if anyone can do it, it’s Manny Pacquiao,” Gibbons, who heads the Pacquiao-owned MP Promotions told DAILY TRIBUNE on Tuesday from Los Angeles.

Barrios, the clear favorite, will be risking his World Boxing Council welterweight crown at the MGM Grand.

But Gibbons, though acknowledging Barrios’ huge advantage in youth at 30 years old, just refuses to count the Filipino southpaw out.

“Manny Pacquiao, the drive, the heart, the passion is back.”

Almost four years removed from his last professional fight, Pacquiao sees his inactivity as a blessing and an opportunity for him to recharge his batteries.

“He is happy, giving him a sense of what to he needs to do. Nobody works harder. Nobody out there does more than what he can do.“

The hard work is over for Pacquiao, who will be aiming to join Bernard Hopkins and George Foreman as the world’s oldest champions.

“As we go into the last eleven days, the champ is where he needs to be. He knows when to rest his body, when to work and we’ve got four more sparring sessions left and then it’s Viva Las Vegas.”

Barrios enters the ring armed with a 29-2-0 win-loss-draw record with 18 knockouts while Pacquiao brings a 62-8-2 slate with 39 knockouts.

The champion from San Antonio, Texas, while aware of his edge in age, is not taking Pacquiao lightly.

“I am preparing for the best Manny Pacquiao,” he said.

If that’s what he is wishing for, Barrios will have to go the extra mile in order to pull off a victory because a Pacquiao in peak form is going to be tough to beat.