Manny Pacquiao given brutal warning ahead of comeback as ageing boxing legend told 'it's kill or be killed'
Welterweight world champion Mario Barrios insists he won't be taking any prisoners when he faces Manny Pacquiao next month and has warned the ageing boxing legend that he plans to get rid of him in devastating fashion.
Former eight-division world champion Pacquaio is launching a comeback at the age of 46 and will step into the ring for the first time in nearly four years when he takes on WBC title holder Barrios in Las Vegas on July 19.
The Filipino star has controversially landed a world title shot next month despite his lack of activity, and were he to upset Barrios, he could be in line to defend his belt in a unification showdown against undefeated American WBO champion Brian Norman Jr.
While he respects his older counterpart, Barrios - who is 16 years Pacquiao's junior - has warned that he will throw everything at 'Pacman' in the ring because of the brutal "kill or be killed" mentality of the sport.
Speaking to YSM Sports Media, the Mexican-American fighter said: "I am going in there with our game plan.
"I am going in there with bad intentions. At any point, if I see I have him hurt, it's kill or be killed in there. I see I have him hurt, I am trying to get him out of there."
Barrios also insists that he won't take pity on his opponent by prolonging the fight if he has Pacquiao badly hurt.
"If the roles were reversed, he wouldn't take it easy on me", he added. "It's just the reality of the sport, it's kill or be killed in there."
Pacquiao - who's mega showdown against Floyd Mayweather Jr in 2015 still ranks as the highest grossing boxing fight of all time after generating $410 million (£304 milion) - has also been told to stay away from fellow contender Jack Catterall who has been deemed as 'too dangerous' of an opponent for the veteran.
Catterall lost out to Arnold Barboza Jr in a bout for the interim WBO light-welterweight title earlier this year after scoring impressive victories against Regis Prograis and Josh Taylor in the past 13 months.
But Catterall's trainer Jamie Moore reckons his man would simply have too much for the ageing Pacquiao were Catterall to step up to the 146-pound division.
Moore has also voiced his concerns about Pacquiao's decision to lace up the gloves again. Speaking to SpinBet, he said: 'I'll be honest with you; I'm not a big fan of the fact that Manny Pacquiao is fighting again.
"I think he is one year younger than me and it's a dangerous game at the best of times never mind when you're 46 years old.
"I really don't see Manny beating Mario Barrios, I just think he is way past his best and it's a young man's sport but if the unbelievable happened and Manny won, I would be really on the fence about it because ultimately, my number one objective would be to get Jack Catterall a world title.
"But I wouldn't feel comfortable going in there with someone like Manny Pacquiao because at the stage of his career now, he could get hurt and I wouldn't want to be in the opposite corner when that potentially happened.
"It's just a dangerous sport and Pacquiao is an absolute legend, I have the upmost respect for him hence the reason why if that scenario did unfold, I wouldn't feel comfortable with this. But also, I want Jack to win a world title so it would be a hard position to be in."
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