“I believed I had won the fight,” Pacquiao declared.
Compubox reports that Barrios landed more total punches (120–101), but Pacquiao outperformed him in power shots (81–75).
Pacquiao was attempting to surpass his own record as the oldest welterweight champion when he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame last month. When he defeated Keith Thurman in a split decision in 2019, he was forty years old. The 46-year-old Filipino lost to Yordenis Ug by unanimous decision, marking his first ring outing in almost four years.
San Antonio native Barrios, 30, was a -275 favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook. On November 15, he tried to recover from a split-decision draw with Abel Ramos, although he didn’t exactly win by a landslide, improving to 29-2-2. The judgment was harshly jeered by the mostly Pacquiao-supporting crowd.
“To share the ring with him was an honor,” Barrios remarked. “We came in here and gave it our all, and this is by far the largest event I’ve had to date. Manny has my utmost admiration.
He has insane endurance. He still has incredible strength and timing. He’s still a really difficult fighter to work out.”
From the start, Pacman (62-9-2) moved quickly around the ring, frequently resembling the younger champion who won 12 world titles across eight classes. In the seventh, he started to take charge, winning the next three rounds on two cards and two on the other by lanting a number of large left hands.
However, knowing that he would face consequences from the judges, Barrios came out more aggressive and ultimately proved to be the superior fighter. In actuality, Barrios won each of the last three rounds from all three.
Barrios stated, “I knew I had to step up to solidify a win, but I didn’t think the fight was slipping away from me.”
A rematch would be of interest to both parties.
I hope this shows fighters that they can still fight at this age if they are disciplined and put in the necessary effort,” Pacquiao stated.
The WBC super welterweight title was held by Sebastian Fundora (23-1-1, 15 KOs) because Tim Tszyu (25-3) failed to show up for the eighth round of the co-main event. According to Compubox, Fundora consistently backed down the Australian, dominated the fight with 118 power blows, and dropped Tszyu with a left shot in the opening round.
Fundora, who led 69-63 on the cards of all three judges, declared, “I’m the bigger guy.” “I decided to start seriously bullying these guys because everyone believes I’m a bully in the ring. Throughout my career, I have consistently worked on aggression, and we have continued to add.
Fundora had a tremendous week after winning the rematch against Tszyu and getting accepted to Harvard. Fundora prevailed by split decision in the first bout, which took place on March 30, 2024, and was somewhat closer.
The inhabitant of Coachella, California, was also the WBO champion, but the organization took away his title since he did not face mandatory opponent Xander Zayas.
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