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

Instead, the Mexican-American WBC welterweight champion from San Antonio will be showcased Friday at another legends event, when Barrios, 29-2 (18 KOs), takes on Abel Ramos, 28-6-2 (22 KOs), at the undercard of the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

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

“Abel and I are the only Mexican fighters on a card in Texas, and that’s no coincidence. MVP Promotions knew what they were doing when they contacted my manager Luis DeCubas Jr. and Abel Ramos’ name was linked to the possibility.

“The plan is to steal the show, take care of business and defend my title with a bang. It won’t be easy, but I’m ready.”

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

His two losses were to Gervonta Davis in 2021 and to Keith Thurman and to Keith Thurman in 2022 in PPV headline fights. Since then, he has bounced back with three wins, with the last two coming on Canelo Alvarez’s undercards. In September 2023, Barrios defeated Yordenis Ugas via unanimous decision to capture the WBC interim welterweight title, and in May he scored a points victory against Fabian Andres Maidana.

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

“The goal is to beat Ramos, stay healthy and unify the division titles with the other champions,” Barrios said. “That’s the next step. I’m willing to let all the fighting happen, and there’s a lot of different ways it can move.

If the Pacquiao fight is off, Barrios would turn his attention to fellow titleholders Jaron Ennis (IBF), Brian Norman Jnr (WBO) and Eimantas Stanionis (WBA).

Ennis comes from what he labeled as a “OK performance” in his rematch against Karen Chukhadzhian last weekend.

Barrios said he’s ready to hit the ground running with Boots after Ramos.

“He has been successful in his fights, but the boxing community can be ruthless and hard to please at times,” Barrios said. “I think he might have rushed it too much against Chukhadzhian. It doesn’t change what Boots brings to the table as a fighter. He is still very dangerous and the biggest threat in the division. Sometimes we go in there and we don’t get the performance we expect. Boots can box and he can pop. We can fight fifty times and it can end differently every time. I’m going to do everything I can to beat him.”

Manouk Akopyan is a sportswriter, writer and 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 at X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn And YouTubevia email at manouk(dot)akopyan(at)gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.