Newly-Crowned WBC Welterweight Champ Barrios Braced for High-Profile Bouts
Trainer Bob Santos is thrilled that his fighter, newly-minted WBC welterweight titleholder Mario Barrios, has been elevated from interim to full champion status. The team is now exploring potential matchups against renowned opponents like Manny Pacquiao and Devin Haney.
On Tuesday, the WBC announced that Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs) had been crowned the new welterweight champion, with the previous titleholder Terence Crawford being placed in “champion-in-recess” status as he prepares to face Israil Madrimov for the WBA junior middleweight crown on August 3 in Los Angeles.
“We’re thrilled about that. It’s a good thing, obviously, and I know he’s happy about that. We earned it in the ring,” Santos told BoxingScene.
The team anticipated Crawford’s potential move up in weight after he became the undisputed welterweight champion, predicting he would seek bigger names or new challenges in higher divisions.
“Yeah, that was a thought process, because you had heard Terence [Crawford] talking about so much that he was going to go up to ’54,” Santos said. “He obviously made his mark at ’47 and now he wants to go ahead and make his mark at ’54.”
The prospect of Barrios defending his newly-won WBC title against the legendary Pacquiao or rising star Haney has piqued the interest of the champion’s camp.
“People were talking about Manny Pacquiao as a possible opponent for Mario’s fight for his WBC title,” Santos said. “We welcome that. Mario, the one thing about him, I said it many, many times, is he takes on all challenges. He has never taken the easy route. He’s never turned down a fight since we’ve been with him.”
Santos also addressed the eye injury Barrios sustained in his recent victory over Fabian Maidana, clarifying that it was due to a sinus infection rather than the fight itself.
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