Manny Pacquiao looked much smaller than upcoming rival Mario Barrios during their maiden face-off.
Pacquiao will end his retirement at the age of 46 and has astonishingly landed a comeback world title shot against WBC welterweight champion Barrios.
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The pair will meet in a huge showdown on July 19 in Las Vegas, with the legend looking to make a record-breaking charge for the famous green belt.
Fears have been sizeable from the boxing fraternity over Pacquiao’s physical condition, given he is far from his legendary boxing heyday.
And when the pair came face-to-face to launch their surprising clash, those worries from fans only heightened.
Barrios towered over Pacquiao quite considerably, standing at 6ft tall, in comparison to the icon’s 5ft 5ins.
It was a seriously big disparity in size between the two operators, and the Filipino look dwarfed by his opponent as they stared each other down.
And viewers of the video which went viral online were deeply worried for Pacquiao’s health and chances of victory.
One wrote: “This has to be a health risk. Barrios is younger, fresher and far too big for Manny Pacquiao.”
Another agreed: “Aren’t any of you nervous for Pac? For some weird reason, I think this great boxer might get hurt.
“Look how small he is compared to Barrios.”
A fan suggested: “Bro this looks even worse than I thought it would, it literally looks like a fighter and their manager. Pac looks so old and tiny.”
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One added: “Jesus christ. Okay Pacquiao wants to fight, but why is he not at least choosing someone his own size? Seems super unnecessary at his age.”
While a fan even concluded: “Size won’t make a difference in the outcome at all.
“Barrios outpoints Pacquiao even if they were the same size at this point. And I’m a die hard Pac-man fan.”
Nonetheless the fight will go ahead and Pacquiao is eyeing an incredible shot at becoming a world champion as a veteran.
The former multi-division world champion hasn’t fought as a professional since being beaten by Yordenis Ugas in 2020.
But he has returned in an exhibition where he struggled massively against Japanese kickboxer Rukiya Anpo last year.
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And despite fears, the WBC have endorsed the clash and have even positioned him at No.5 in the division’s rankings.
Pacquiao has also insisted his medical checks are clear and he feels ready more than ever to roll back the years.
He added: “I always stay in shape, but once I started seriously working out again, I realized that I still had that passion and ability in me.
“I went to my doctor and everything was perfect. My medicals came back great. I feel good, and I’m ready to do it again.
For this camp, I’m back with my longtime trainer, Freddie Roach. The old Manny will be back.”
