Manny Pacquiao put on a solid showing for his age; however, his fight vs. Mario Barrios has a result few, if any, will be happy with.
The WBC welterweight title fight between the two ended in a majority draw, allowing Barrios to retain the championship.
Barrios appeared to be trying to size up Pacquiao early in the fight, while Pac-Man got to work, doing most of the landing in the opening two rounds. Barrios picked up the pace in the third, taking the lead on that round before a back-and-forth fourth round that could have fallen either way.
Barrios found success in the fifth round with his right hand, but Pacquiao was finding the speed and still connecting well as the first half of the fight came to a close. After another close round, Pacquiao appeared to outpace Barrios over the next couple of rounds.
Another back-and-forth 10th round was then followed by a last push from Pacquiao in the championship rounds. It would not be enough, however. Barrios would win 115-113 on one scorecard, while the remaining two judges scored the bout 114-114.
Mario Barrios Retains WBC Title In Controversial Draw vs. Manny Pacquiao
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This was Pacquiao’s first fight since dropping the WBA welterweight title to Yordenis Ugas in August 2021.
Barrios defeated Ugas for the interim WBC welterweight title in September 2023. Last year, he retained the title in a decision over Fabian Maidana and another controversial draw against Abel Ramos on the undercard of Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul.
