Manny Pacquiao and Mario Barrios were held to a draw in their world title showdown.
The fight saw Pacquiao make a remarkable return to the sport at the age of 46 and having not fought since August 2021, with the MGM Grand in Las Vegas the location for his bid to win the WBC welterweight champion.
Despite being 16 years older than Barrios and a lot of concerns that he may be well past his best, Pacquiao was able to compete throughout the 12 rounds, and many observers felt he had done enough to earn the victory when the final bell rung.
It wasn’t to be though, as the three judges scored it 115-113 Barrios and 114-114 twice, meaning the fight ended in a majority decision draw and Pacquiao missed out on his bid to become world champion, with Barrios retaining his WBC title.
After sharing the ring with Pacquiao for 36 minutes, Barrios revealed in his post-fight press conferencewhether the Filipino icon still carries any of the power that he displayed throughout the peak of career, needing just three words to sum it up – ‘he still cracks’.
“He still has a lot of crack.”
Barrios then explained his game plan in the fight, after some criticism that he wasn’t aggressive enough against his rival.
“It wasn’t about respect. He was very explosive and very tricky and I wasn’t trying to make a mistake by overcommitting on a shot that I wasn’t sure of.”
After the close battle between the two men, Pacquiao has already revealed whether he has desire for a rematch or if he will return to retirement.
