LAS VEGAS — Sean Gibbons regrets the decision he supported in August 2021.

The president of Manny Pacquiao Promotions knows he never should've signed off on Yordenis Ugas replacing Errol Spence Jr. as Pacquiao's opponent almost four years ago.

Pacquiao approved Cuba's Ugas as a late replacement for Spence, who suffered a detached retina while training for a welterweight title unification fight here.

Gibbons, a boxing lifer with an extensive background in matchmaking, knew the right-handed Ugas' style would trouble Pacquiao, who prepared for almost two months to fight a southpaw. Ugas upset Pacquiao by 12-round unanimous decision, prompting the Filipino superstar to announce his retirement five weeks later to focus on his failed presidential campaign.

"It's real simple," Gibbons told The Ring. "You're fighting a 5-foot-10 southpaw. Next thing you know, you're fighting a [expletive] octopus, the worst possible style for Manny Pacquiao.

"We rolled the dice and came up with snake eyes, it was a horrible choice and I blame myself a lot for it. Manny ultimately said, 'Hey, the show has gotta go on,' because that's the kind of guy Manny is. But we made a mistake there, it can all be made up for with a win here."

Here is MGM Grand Garden Arena, the venue where many of the legendary Pacquiao's most meaningful fights have taken place, including his long-awaited showdown with Floyd Mayweather in May 2015. The 46-year-old Pacquiao's 12-round bout with WBC welterweight champ Mario Barrios will be his first fight since Ugas beat him in August 2021.

Pacquiao's age and long layoff have helped establish Barrios as a 3-1 favorite, according to most sportsbooks. Gibbons believes, however, that he has seen in training camp a Pacquiao comparable to the 40-year-old version who dropped then-unbeaten Keith Thurman and defeated the former WBA/WBC welterweight champ by split decision in July 2019.

"When I say I saw a vintage Manny Pacquiao, it was vintage Manny since the time he fought Lucas Matthysse [in July 2018]," Gibbons said. "He looked like he did with Matthysse, [Adrien] Broner, Thurman, Ugas. Against Ugas, he wasn't bad.

"You've gotta understand the style was a joke. It was the worst type of style we could ever fight, but that fight was very close, so when I say vintage I mean the same Manny over the last eight, nine years. He still looks very strong. To me, everything looks like the same Manny Pacquiao. It’s like he fell out of a time warp."

Pacquiao's camp for Barrios, of San Antonio, Texas, didn't at all resemble how he prepared to face Ugas.

"That was a disaster," Gibbons said. "This one, we're 110 percent good. No injuries, no calf cramping, nothing. The thing is he took off the right amount of days, listened to his body, knows in seven weeks what he needs to do.

"We just hope what we saw in the gym will translate on fight night. But if I saw him any slower, without the power and all that, I would be worried — I'm not."

Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs) and Barrios (29-2-1, 18 KOs) will headline a four-fight Premier Boxing Champions pay-per-view show. It is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET (8 p.m. ET) and can be purchased through all cable and satellite operators in the United States ($79.99).