LAS VEGAS -- More than 24 years after Manny Pacquiao made his stateside debut at the MGM Grand Garden Arena by upsetting Lehlo Ledwaba for the IBF junior featherweight title, the Filipino sensation attempted to make history as the oldest fighter to win the welterweight championship at the very arena where it all started.
But Pacquiao, 46, fell short in his attempt when his fight with WBC champion Mario Barrios ended in a majority draw Saturday night. Barrios retained his title as a result, and Pacquiao left Las Vegas empty handed.
The result -- with two judges scoring it 114-114 and one judge scoring it 115-113 for Barrios -- fell flat in front of a capacity crowd of 13,107, most of whom were Pacquiao fans.
Pacquiao (62-8-3, 39 KOs) ended a four-year retirement a month after being inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and started off quickly against Barrios, who is 16 years his junior. The early rounds saw a more vintage version of Pacquiao, a far cry from the sluggish version who lost a decision to Yordenis Ugas in 2021. Boxing's only eight-division world champion brought the crowd to life by launching into his trademark offense, darting his left hand between Barrios' gloves and rolling in with combinations.
But Father Time appeared to have his way with Pacquiao, who slowed down by the middle rounds.
Heading into the fight, Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs) had only lost to Gervonta Davis and Keith Thurman. However, his past two outings against Abel Ramos (draw) and Fabian Maidana (win) were far from impressive.
Barrios was hand-picked by Pacquiao for his return fight and was granted a title shot due to the WBC's rules stating that a former champion could request a title fight after coming out of retirement. He nearly pulled it off, but Barrios clawed his way back into the fight after watching his opponent get off to a fast start.
Pacquiao would summon the energy to fire his combinations but was clearly tiring in the second half as Barrios did just enough to convince the judges, allowing him to retain his title.
Afterward, Pacquiao and Barrios agreed that a rematch should happen, which would give Pacquiao another shot at making history.
