Practically every fighter finds a weight class to settle into. But for Mario Barrios, he's yet to discover his.

Back in 2013, Barrios made his professional debut as a junior bantamweight. Since then, he's steadily moved up the various weight divisions and is now a world champion at 147-pounds, where he has campaigned since early 2022.

As a 30-year-old belt holder, Barrios is feeling good about himself. However, while the welterweight division feels like home, he doesn't believe his stay will be permanent.

"It's only a matter of time until I make that move up," admitted Barrios to Mainevent.

The junior middleweight division would represent his seventh weight class. But, in all honesty, we're getting ahead of ourselves. Mixing it up with guys like Tim Tszyu, Sebastian Fundora, and Jermell Charlo may materialise in future, but Barrios wants to focus on the here and now.

On July 19, he'll attempt to accomplish a few things. For starters, he would like to defend his WBC crown for the second time and also love to take down a legend in doing so. Both are possible, should he bring his A-game.

On the night, Barrios (29-2-1, 18 KOs) will stand across the ring from Manny Pacquiao. The former eight-division champ hasn't laced up his gloves in over four years. Yet, for whatever reason, he likes his chances against Barrios and will officially end his time on the shelf.

When he wakes up in the morning and before he lays his head at night, Barrios can only think about Pacquiao and the rest of the 147-pound elite. He's still confident the 154-pound division will be on the agenda in future years, but can't get wrapped up in that thought.

"Right now, I have my eyes set on the welterweight division," Barrios continued. "I'm still making the weight comfortably but as soon as that time hits and it's too much for my body, we're gonna make the move up."