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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 in Las Vegas. 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 favour 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 Ugas.
Barrios, a 30-year-old from San Antonio, was a -275 favourite 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 honour 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.
Usyk knocks out Dubois
Oleksandr Usyk knocked out Daniel Dubois in the fifth round and became the undisputed world heavyweight champion for a second time earlier on Saturday.
The undefeated southpaw retained his WBA, WBC and WBO belts and regained the IBF belt he relinquished just over a year ago.
The Ukrainian dropped Dubois twice in the fifth — the second time with a lunging left cross. The London native looked stunned on the canvas and couldn’t beat the count at a packed Wembley Stadium.
Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) beat Dubois for the second time in under two years and this time there was no low-blow drama. It was a ninth-round stoppage in Poland with, of all things, a straight jab. But the finishing shot Saturday was a no-doubter.
Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs) joined British countrymen Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in having lost twice to the 38-year-old Usyk, who was an undisputed world champion as a cruiserweight before he moved up in weight six years ago.