Mario Barrios appeared headed to a winter showdown against Manny Pacquiao, but the fight against the eight-division champion never came to fruition after the Filipino icon appeared shaky in an exhibition bout. 

Instead, the Mexican-American WBC welterweight champion from San Antonio is being showcased at another legend’s event on Friday when Barrios, 29-2 (18 KOs) takes on Abel Ramos, 28-6-2 (22 KOs), on the undercard of the Mike Tyson versus Jake Paul fight at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. 

“It's pretty crazy,” Barrios told BoxingScene on Tuesday shortly after his public workout. “I never thought that I’d be fighting on the undercard of a Mike Tyson fight. But here I am. I am excited to be a part of the card. It's pretty crazy. 

“Abel and I are the only Mexican fighters on a card in Texas, and that's not by coincidence. MVP Promotions knew what they were doing when they reached out to my manager Luis DeCubas Jr. and Abel Ramos' name was attached to the opportunity. 

“The plan is to steal the show, handle business, and defend my title with a bang. It's not going to be easy, but I am prepared.”

“El Azteca” Barrios is used to the bright lights by now.

His two losses have come against Gervonta Davis in 2021 and Keith Thurman and 2022 in PPV headlining fights and he’s bounced back with three wins since then, with the last two coming on Canelo Alvarez’s undercards. In September of 2023, Barrios beat Yordenis Ugas via unanimous decision to land the WBC’s interim welterweight title, and in May, he scored a points win against Fabian Andres Maidana.

By June, Barrios, 29, was elevated to the full title by the sanctioning body after Terence Crawford officially moved on from 147 pounds. 

“The goal is to beat Ramos, remain healthy, and unify titles in the division with the other champions,” said Barrios. “That's the next step. I'm willing to make all of the fights happen, and there are a lot of different ways that it can move.”

If the Pacquiao fight is no longer there, Barrios would turn his attention to fellow titleholders Jaron Ennis (IBF), Brian Norman Jnr (WBO) and Eimantas Stanionis (WBA). 

Ennis is coming off what he billed as an “OK performance” in his rematch against Karen Chukhadzhian over the weekend. 

Barrios said he’s ready to bang it out with Boots after Ramos. 

“He's been successful in his fights, but the boxing community can be relentless and hard to please sometimes,” said Barrios. “I think he might have been rushing it too much against Chukhadzhian. It doesn't change what Boots brings to the table as a fighter. He's still very dangerous and the biggest threat in the division. Sometimes we go in there and don't get the performance we're expecting. Boots can box and he can bang. We can fight 50 times and it can end differently every time. I'm going to do whatever it takes to be victorious against him.” 

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine and more. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on , , and , through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via .