Barrios lucky to keep title
By Joaquin Henson
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 21 Jul 2025
Lady Luck continued to smile on WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios as he has now retained his title twice in a row by escaping without a win. He kept his belt on a majority 12-round draw with Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas Saturday night (yesterday morning, Manila) and in a previous bout last November, survived a knockdown to hold Abel Ramos to a split 12-round standoff.
There will likely be a rematch between Pacquiao and Barrios as the outcome was inconclusive. Judges Tim Cheatham and Steve Weisfeld saw it 114-all while judge Max DeLuca scored it for Barrios, 115-113. All three judges had Pacquiao ahead after nine rounds but gave the last three to Barrios.
Pacquiao, 46, appeared to do more than enough to wrest the crown although CompuBox stats showed Barrios, 30, landing and throwing more punches, 120 of 658 to 101 of 577. The advantage in power shots went to Pacquiao who connected on 81 of 259 to Barrios’ 75 of 235. Barrios had the edge in converted jabs, 45 of 423 to 20 of 318. Fights, however, aren’t scored on the basis of cumulative punches but on rounds won or lost.
It was even up to the fifth frame then Pacquiao seized control by outworking Barrios with rapid-fire combinations. Barrios had difficulty figuring out Pacquiao’s points of attack, leaving himself open for counters. El Azteca adjusted his offense, baiting Pacquiao to initiate so he could counter instead but lost ground in the middle rounds because of the tactical mistake. Pacquiao was too smart to be goaded into a position of disadvantage. When Barrios made his jab a secondary option, Pacquiao sizzled and left the champion wondering how to fend off an opponent who was 16 years older. It looked like Barrios was probably 15 pounds heavier than Pacquiao on fight night. But the disparity in heft wasn’t a factor.
A bit of ring rust and age seemed to slow Pacquiao’s movements. He wasn’t as quick to duck or dodge Barrios’ left jab. In his younger days, Pacquiao would slip, slide and use lateral motion to make himself an elusive target for the jab. Barrios readjusted his offense in the later rounds to go back to leading off with the jab as Pacquiao slowed down. Still, Pacquiao made believers out of skeptics and shocked the boxing world by coming back from a four-year layoff to nearly become the first active International Boxing Hall of Famer to win a world title. Pacquiao said he would train 3 1/2 to four months for his next fight, not just two as he did for Barrios.
For Pacquiao, a draw was a win as he defied the odds not to lose. He'll be back for sure, maybe against Barrios once more or against Floyd Mayweather who might be tempted to do a rematch 10 years after their first encounter.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Joaquin Henson.
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