Pacquiao and Barrios Settle for Majority Stalemate in WBC Welterweight Bout

Report by Cenon Pineda | Photo by John Locher | Layout by Angilene Dableo

Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao showed greatness as he went head-to-head against current WBC World Welterweight Champion Mario Barrios, with an intense battle ruled out as a majority draw on Saturday, July 19, at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas Nevada.

Results showed narrow differences as one of the judges Max DeLuca scored the fight as 115-113 in favor of Barrios. But, this was overturned by two scores of 114-114 from Tim Cheatam and Steve Weisfield. Punch statistics favored the defending champion, by landing 120 shots from 658 thrown, which is more in both hit and thrown punches by Pacman, he landed 101 and managed to throw 577 punches as per record. Yet, the nation's pride still managed to show his immense precision as he managed to draw out more power punches than the defending champion, with a score of 81-75.

Round 1 of the match-up was a heated counter punching exchange between the two, both showing clashing styles, Barrios threw the first punch giving Pacquiao a bit of a headache. Moreover, Pacman managed to retaliate and go over his blocked punches early on by sticking a left downstairs and then one up to a classic 1-2 combination matched with his signature which managed to end the round in Manny's favor.

Following the next bouts were almost all in favor of Barrios, while Pacquiao still manages to maintain his cunning style even showing his great footwork at the second round, as the defending champion tangles his legs and falls off. Most exchanges weren't that clean, yet Barrios with his wing span continues to dominate by keeping his range with long punches.

Furthermore, on the seventh round a resurgence was made as Pacquiao throws very clean combinations and then gets one more shot, Barrios failing most of his attacks while the challenger manages to throw a flurry and gets a strong left against the defending champion. This dominance lasts until the last few rounds particularly the ninth as Manny was able to use the passive approach of Mario against him, showing clean left lands from upstairs.

Meanwhile, a turnover was set up at the final round as most left hand counter punches from Pacquiao fails to land and gets smothered from simple touches by Barrios with a long range, ending with Manny giving out fast combinations that doesn't land well, as Barrios returns fire, After the intense match up Pacquiao recognized the adversity that he had to face coming from a long break, with only two months of training.

“I thought I won the fight. It was a close fight. He was very tough.” He continued as he states that, “I had to find a way to finish the fight better, but my opponent is so tough. He threw a lot of good combinations and had defense. It was a tough fight.” Pacquiao stated after the bout.

Leaving the crowd with mixed emotions as the controversial nature of the result means that a rematch could be coming, as both parties agreed to the challenge, with Manny promising a better result by training harder and still continuing to go over the camp as he awaits his next fight. Barrios reciprocates the respect as he thanks the challenger for a job well done and a successful match-up that is indeed one for the books.

"It was an honor to share the ring with him," said Barrios. "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 finishes by stating that, “I’ll do the rematch. Absolutely. I'd love to do it again.”

With a crowd in awe of the defending champion’s humility and the veteran challenger’s grit the night at the MGM grand concluded with a sense of anticipation rather than finality especially with Pacquiao's great comeback, who knows what might come next for him even hinting possibilities of a Mayweather do over. As officials and promoters weigh in, boxing fans are left waiting for what could be another high-stakes encounter between two of the sport's most determined fighters.