Boxing

Manny Pacquiao's NFL Star Teammate Turns Heads With Mario Barrios Fight Prediction

NFL star Camryn Bynum, who is part of Manny Pacquiao's training camp against Mario Barrios, made an interesting fight prediction.
Grant Young|
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

On July 19, legendary Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao will be returning to the ring for a professional fight for the first time in about four years, when he faced 30-year-old Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight belt in Las Vegas, Nevada.

While there's a ton of excitement about Pacquiao coming out of retirement, there's also a fair share of concern. Not only is Pacquiao now 46 years old, but he hadn't looked good in his most recent professional loss (a unanimous decision beatdown defeat to Yordenis Ugas in 2021), and looked slow during his exhibition bout last year.

However, if Pacquiao does stand a chance against Barrios, it will likely be due to his power. This is because punching power is typically the last thing that leaves an aging boxer, in comparison to speed and agility. Therefore, Pacquiao's fans are hoping that he might be able to find a knockout punch against Barrios.

Pacquiao made a fascinating addition to his training camp ahead of his July 19 fight, as he invited Filipino-American NFL safety Camryn Bynum (who plays for the Indianapolis Colts) to the team in order to help him prepare for Barrios.

MORE: Opening Manny Pacquiao vs Mario Barrios Betting Odds Say It All

The boxing icon has been known to bring celebrities and other pop culture icons in some of his past training camps, so Bynum coming on board wasn't necessarily a surprise. However, a prediction that Bynum made when speaking with ESNews on May 23 is somewhat surprising.

When Bynum was asked for a prediction for the fight, he said, "Manny. Easy." When asked what round Pacquiao will win, he said, "I'll say 12 [rounds]. But unanimous [decision]. UD."

Bynum's sentiment is interesting because most believe that if the fight goes to decision, that means Barrios will be the winner. But perhaps Bynum knows something about Pacquiao's gas tank that the rest of us don't, given that he's now training alongside him.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.