LAS VEGAS — Manny Pacquiao took a crack at boxing history and battled a young Mexican champion for 12 rounds. But he fell short — one good round short — in the eyes of the judges.
The Filipino legend, at 46, tried to become the oldest welterweight champion and performed way beyond expectations. Many felt he did enough, more than enough, to beat Mario Barrios on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena here.
But the judges saw it otherwise, one scoring it 115-113 for the 30-year-old Mexican, and the two others submitting identical 114-114 cards for a majority draw. It meant Mr. Barrios will fly home to San Antonio, Texas with the WBC welterweight belt over his shoulder.
It was a stunning draw. To many, a disappointing one.
“I thought I won the fight,” said Mr. Pacquiao on top of the ring, just moments after the verdict was announced, one which drew a howl from the dominant Filipino fans from among the 13,107 in attendance for the big event.
Mr. Pacquiao supporters left the arena in silence, in disbelief. Some members of the foreign press, including the most seasoned boxing writers, had Mr. Pacquiao winning. Dan Rafael had it 117-111 and Kevin Iole 116-112 for the eight-division champion who came out of a four-year retirement.
The Associated Press scored it 115-113 for Mr. Pacquiao. The STAR gave Mr. Barrios, taller and much heavier inside the ring, five rounds. Yahoo! Sports headlined its breaking story, “Pacquiao robbed of making history.”
There was a look of surprise on Mr. Pacquiao’s face the moment the first scorecard was read: 115-113, Mr. Barrios. At that moment, perhaps, he knew what was coming.
“I thought I won the fight. I mean, it’s (a) close fight. My opponent (was) very tough. Wonderful fight,” said Mr. Pacquiao, who was enshrined to the International Boxing Hall of Fame last month.
Even before the night was over, Mr. Pacquiao hinted that he would be back to fight again.
“I think so. I think so. God willing,” he said as the crowd roared.
“Don’t worry, the Pacman is back, and the journey will continue,” added Mr. Pacquiao later on.
He tried hard to be magnanimous in defeat.
Mr. Pacquiao, with a puffy face, showed up for the traditional post-fight press conference as Mr. Barrios and his trainer, Bob Santos, were fielding questions from the press. He got up on stage and came up to the Mexicans, who were seated, and hugged them from behind.
Then Mr. Pacquiao left, and waited for his turn to address the media.
Mr. Barrios felt he won the fight, too. And that he deserved more than a draw.
“I feel like I won the fight. I felt I won. But I’m happy that I’m still holding on to my title. We’re going to keep things moving forward,” said Mr. Barrios.
“It was an honor to share the ring with him. 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,” he added.
Mr. Pacquiao, added Mr. Barrios, was better inside the ring than most people predicted or expected. On that aspect, Mr. Pacquiao performed a couple of notches higher than he did four years ago when he fought Yordenis Ugas of Cuba and lost.
“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,” said Mr. Barrios.
As the boxing world watched, Mr. Pacquiao got off to a fine start by poking Mr. Barrios in the mid-section and then landing his straight to Mr. Barrios’ face. Barely a minute into the fight, the crowd was chanting, “Man-ny! Man-ny!”
Mr. Barrios then worked on his jab, and as the fight progressed, became more successful with it, throwing Mr. Pacquiao off guard. But Mr. Pacquiao continued to land some good punches, right hooks and straights, and good combinations here and there.
Mr. Barrios’ trainer felt Mr. Pacquiao was trying to steal the rounds, even if it meant throwing combinations and playing the aggressor’s role for “twenty seconds.”
Mr. Pacquiao was quite successful at it. The unofficial scorecard being flashed on the giant screen had Mr. Pacquiao ahead after nine rounds. But Mr. Barrios found the urgency, and won the last three rounds in all three cards.
While Mr. Barrios landed good punches, Mr. Pacquiao never found himself in danger.
In the end, Mr. Pacquiao’s checkered ring record stood at 62-8-3 and Mr. Barrios’ at 29-2-2. It was the first draw for Mr. Pacquiao in 21 years, since that first of four encounters with Juan Manuel Marquez.
Mr. Pacquiao said he should have spent more time training for this fight, longer than the seven weeks he chalked.
Mr. Pacquiao ran in the Philippine midterm elections last May, hoping to regain his seat in the senate. He was unfortunate. Then just days after the polls, he flew to Los Angeles to announce the Barrios fight, and plunged into training.
“Because of the election I started late, but it’s okay,” he said.
Immediately after, there was a clamor for a rematch with Mr. Barrios — with unfinished business between the two ring warriors.
“Of course I’d like a rematch. I want to leave a legacy and make the Filipino people proud,” he said.
Mr. Barrios will surely jump at the opportunity — if it comes. He reportedly was guaranteed $1 million for this fight, the biggest paycheck in his career, and could ask for more for a rematch with Mr. Pacquiao.
“If that’s what he wants. If a rematch is something that he wants,” said Mr. Barrios.
“I’ll do the rematch. Absolutely. This was huge for boxing. I’d love to do it again,” the Mexican added. — Abac Cordero
