Pacquiao’s comeback falls short as Barrios retains WBC welterweight title in majority draw

By MARK ANDERSONThe Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Manny Pacquiao pushed back against his doubters, the odds and even Father Time on Saturday night — and nearly made some history.

But Pacquiao, in the end, fell just short on the judges’ scorecards as Mario Barrios escaped with a majority draw to retain the WBC welterweight championship. Two judges scored the bout a draw, and judge Max DeLuca awarded Barrios a 115-113 victory.

The Associated Press scored the fight 115-113 in favor of Pacquiao.

“I thought I won the fight,” Pacquiao said.

Barrios landed more total punches (120-101), according to Compubox, but Pacquiao had the edge in power shots (81-75).

Pacquiao, enshrined into the International Boxing Hall of Fame last month, was trying to break his own record for oldest welterweight champion. He was 40 when he emerged in 2019 split decision over Keith Thurman. This also was his first appearance in the ring in nearly four years for the 46-year-old Filipino, a loss by unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugás.

Barrios, a 30-year-old from San Antonio, was a -275 favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook. He hoped to bounce back from a split-decision draw on Nov. 15 against Abel Ramos, but didn’t exactly come away with an emphatic victory in improving to 29-2-2. The heavily pro-Pacquiao crowd loudly booed the decision.

“It was an honor to share the ring with him,” Barrios said. “This is by far the biggest event I’ve had to date, and we came in here and left everything in the ring. I have nothing but respect for Manny.

“His stamina is crazy. He’s still strong as hell and his timing is real. He’s still a very awkward fighter to try to figure out.”

Pacman (62-9-2) moved swiftly around the ring from the beginning, often looking more like the younger champion who captured 12 world titles in eight divisions. He began to be take control in the seventh, landing several big left hands to win the following three rounds on two cards and two on the other.

But Barrios was the better fighter at the end, coming out more aggressive knowing he might be in trouble with the judges. All three, in fact, awarded Barrios each of the final three rounds.

“I didn’t think the fight was getting away from me, but I knew I had to step it up to solidify a win,” Barrios said.

Both sides they would be interested in a rematch.

“I hope this is an inspiration to boxers that if you have discipline and work hard you can still fight at this age,” Pacquiao said.

Sebastian Fundora (23-1-1, 15 KOs) retained his WBC super welterweight title when Tim Tszyu (25-3) didn’t come out for the eighth round in the co-main event. Fundora floored Tszyu with a left hand in the first round and dominated the action with 118 power punches, according to Compubox, by repeatedly backing down the Australian.

“I’m the bigger guy,” said Fundora, who led 69-63 on all three judges’ cards. “Everyone says I’m a bully in the ring, so I thought I should start really bullying these guys. I just kept working on aggression my whole career and we’ve just been adding.”

It was a big week for Fundora, who was accepted into Harvard and then won the rematch with Tszyu. The first fight on March 30, 2024 was much closer, with Fundora emerging with a split-decision victory.

The Coachella, California, resident also had been the WBO champion, but that organization stripped him of his belt for not fighting mandatory challenger Xander Zayas.