
Pacquiao's comeback falls short as Barrios retains WBC welterweight title in majority draw
But Pacquiao, in the end, fell just short on the judges' scorecards as Mario Barrios escaped with a majority draw to retain the WBC welterweight championship. Two judges scored the bout a draw, and judge Max DeLuca awarded Barrios a 115-113 victory.
The Associated Press scored the fight 115-113 in favor of Pacquiao.
'I thought I won the fight,' Pacquiao said.
Barrios landed more total punches (120-101), according to Compubox, but Pacquiao had the edge in power shots (81-75).
Pacquiao, enshrined into the International Boxing Hall of Fame last month, was trying to break his own record for oldest welterweight champion. He was 40 when he emerged in 2019 split decision over Keith Thurman. This also was his first appearance in the ring in nearly four years for the 46-year-old Filipino, a loss by unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugás.
Barrios, a 30-year-old from San Antonio, was a -275 favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook. He hoped to bounce back from a split-decision draw on Nov. 15 against Abel Ramos, but didn't exactly come away with an emphatic victory in improving to 29-2-2. The heavily pro-Pacquiao crowd loudly booed the decision.
'It was an honor to share the ring with him,' Barrios said. '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.
'His stamina is crazy. He's still strong as hell and his timing is real. He's still a very awkward fighter to try to figure out.'
Pacman (62-9-2) moved swiftly around the ring from the beginning, often looking more like the younger champion who captured 12 world titles in eight divisions. He began to be take control in the seventh, lantding several big left hands to win the following three rounds on two cards and two on the other.
But Barrios was the better fighter at the end, coming out more aggressive knowing he might be in trouble with the judges. All three, in fact, awarded Barrios each of the final three rounds.
'I didn't think the fight was getting away from me, but I knew I had to step it up to solidify a win,' Barrios said.
Both sides they would be interested in a rematch.
'I hope this is an inspiration to boxers that if you have discipline and work hard you can still fight at this age,' Pacquiao said.
Sebastian Fundora (23-1-1, 15 KOs) retained his WBC super welterweight title when Tim Tszyu (25-3) didn't come out for the eighth round in the co-main event. Fundora floored Tszyu with a left hand in the first round and dominated the action with 118 power punches, according to Compubox, by repeatedly backing down the Australian.
'I'm the bigger guy,' said Fundora, who led 69-63 on all three judges' cards. 'Everyone says I'm a bully in the ring, so I thought I should start really bullying these guys. I just kept working on aggression my whole career and we've just been adding.'
It was a big week for Fundora, who was accepted into Harvard and then won the rematch with Tszyu. The first fight on March 30, 2024 was much closer, with Fundora emerging with a split-decision victory.
The Coachella, California, resident also had been the WBO champion, but that organization stripped him of his belt for not fighting mandatory challenger Xander Zayas.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
44 minutes ago
- The Independent
Tour de France stage 19: New route map and profile revealed after race altered to avoid cow culling
Tour de France organisers have edited what was set to be an enthralling day in the Alps to avoid cow culling taking place near the stage 19 route. The discovery of a contagious disease amongst cattle has meant the route will be shortened from 129.9 kilometres to just 95km with two climbs – the 11.3km Cote d'Hery-sur-Ugine and the 13.7km Col des Saisies – removed. An outbreak of nodular dermatitis meant the affected herd has needed to be culled and race organisers have taken the decision to divert the route in light of 'distress' amongst those farmers concerned. It follows yesterday's stage 18 which promised high drama and delivered. But despite their best efforts, Jonas Vingegaard and Visma-Lease a Bike were unable to break the resolve of Tadej Pogacar. The yellow jersey extended his lead over the Dane by another 11 seconds, leaving he and his team with a mountain to climb, both physically and metaphorically, on stage 19, the final mountain stage of this year's race. Pogacar rode a conservative race to simply consolidate his lead, allowing Visma to shred the race down on the day's second hors-categorie climb, the Col de la Madeleine, before a regrouping on the valley road to Col de la Loze. That wasn't quite what Visma had in mind and after all their efforts there was nothing they could do to distance Pogacar, who took control on the final climb and launched a sprint for second place on the top of the fearsome Col de la Loze. First place went to Australian climber Ben O'Connor, who endured a torrid start to this year's race, crashing and losing time on the very first stage and watching his GC ambitions of a top-five finish go up in smoke. But he rode superbly on stage 18 to get into the day's breakaway, sticking with the GC group as they absorbed the escapees on the Col de la Madeleine, before attacking again on the valley road, and finally dropping his sole remaining companion, Einer Rubio, with 16km left of the final climb. He continued to time-trial his way to the finish and his second Tour de France stage win, while behind, Pogacar and Vingegaard were locked together until the final few hundred metres - along with Oscar Onley, whose superb Tour continued as he moved within 22 seconds of Florian Lipowitz and the final podium place. The Dane was distanced as the yellow jersey stormed off to banish his past demons from the Col de la Loze, where he cracked in the 2023 Tour, and it was Vingegaard this time picking up the pieces. He insisted 'the Tour isn't over, still' at the finish, and while that's true, he is rapidly running out of time to haul back his four-and-a-half minute deficit. Stage 19 is arguably his final chance, but the shortening of the stage of will offer Vingegaard even less opportunity to attack, In a statement ahead of the Albertville- La Plagne stage, the Tour said: 'The discovery of an outbreak of contagious nodular dermatitis affecting cattle in a herd located specifically in the Col des Saisies has necessitated the culling of the animals. 'In light of the distress experienced by the affected farmers and in order to preserve the smooth running of the race, it has been decided, in agreement with the relevant authorities, to modify the route of Stage 19 (Albertville–La Plagne) and to avoid the ascent to the Col des Saisies. 'The ceremonial start will take place as planned at the exit of Albertville. After a 7km parade, riders will head towards the D925, where the official start will be given. 'The race will then rejoin the original route shortly before Beaufort (at km 52.4 on the original schedule). 'Due to this change, which notably bypasses the Col des Saisies, the stage will now cover a total distance of 95km instead of the originally planned 129.9km.' Route map and profile Start time Stage 19 begins at 2.45pm local time (1.45pm BST) and is set to conclude around 5.20pm local time (4.20pm BST). Prediction Tadej Pogacar had said prior to stage 18 that he wanted to win, but ultimately opted for a safer, conservative ride, with all eyes on lifting the trophy in Paris. Will he go for the same tactic today, on the final mountaintop finish, or decide to add one more to his haul of four stage wins from this year? If he fancies it, there's essentially no stopping him, but on the last three summit finishes UAE haven't ridden themselves into the red chasing down breakaways, so that may be the case again today - particularly after Visma put them to the sword on stage 18. If a strong breakaway gets up the road, Michael Storer, Luke Plapp, and Santiago Buitrago are all potential winners, but all have had up-and-down Tours. Lenny Martinez has shown flashes of brilliance but been unable to stick with the best. Pablo Castrillo has had a very quiet race but is a double Vuelta a Espana winner from last year, both times on punishing mountain terrain. Alternatively, Visma-Lease a Bike could once again send satellite riders up the road to aid Jonas Vingegaard, and keep them up the road for security if the yellow jersey group hits the final climb too late to make the catch. On his third-week form, who'd put it past Sepp Kuss to win a Tour de France stage?


Evening Standard
44 minutes ago
- Evening Standard
Lions vs Australia: Second Test kick-off time, TV channel, live stream, team news, lineups, h2h, odds
Having beaten the First Nations and Pasifika XV in midweek, the Lions have now won all seven matches they have played on Australian soil. They are looking to become the first Lions side to go unbeaten overseas in a tour since the 1974 squad did so in South Africa.


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Australia vs British & Irish Lions betting tips: 2nd Test prediction and best bets
Australia vs Lions tips: After winning the first Test last weekend, the British & Irish Lions could wrap up the series win against Australia with a win in Melbourne on Saturday (11am, Sky Sports Main Event). Andy Farrell's side secured a 27-19 win in Brisbane, thanks to tries from Sione Tuipulotu, Tom Curry and Dan Sheehan, but it could have been so much better. The Lions were leading 24-5 early in the second half, but a combination of a slower last half hour and an Australian improvement saw them cut the deficit to just eight. Farrell is expecting an improvement from Australia, who will have key forwards Will Skelton and Rob Valetini available again after missing the Brisbane opener with calf injuries. But he also knows there is more to come from his Lions side, not least a performance that lasts the whole match. Australia vs Lions prediction: Lions to secure the series Rugby betting sites are backing the Lions to win the series 3-0 at odds of 1/3, while a 2-1 win is 3/1, so they are not holding out much hope that Australia will improve enough to win this weekend. You can get just 1/5 on a Lions Test win, but 7/2 on a win for the home side, while a rare draw is priced at 28/1. Eight points separated the two sides in the first match, and you can get 5/1 on the Lions winning by 6-10, but with Australia strengthened with the experienced duo returning, the Wallabies could make further inroads into that total. Farrell's side were perhaps guilty of letting their foot off the gas in the second half, but with the chance to close out the series, we're backing them to get the job done in Melbourne. Australia vs Lions betting tips: Sheehan to score another try I backed Sheehan to score a try in the first Test, and that one came off as he ran in the third and final try for the Lions just after the break, and I'm backing him again to come up with the goods once more. Sheehan has been dangerous in and around the tryline to date down under. He scored the first try in Australia with just one minute on the clock in the Lions' opening game against Western Force in Perth. The Irish hooker also scored five tries for his country in this year's Six Nations and betting sites are offering a price of 11/8 on him scoring anytime in the Lions tour odds. Please gamble responsibly When having a bet, it's vital to practice responsible gambling. Betting can be addictive, and it's important to stay in control of your betting. Never treat gambling as a way to make money, never bet more than you can afford and when the fun stops, stop. Gambling sites offer punters tools, like deposit limits, profit and loss trackers and self-exclusion options, to help them stay in control. But if you ever feel like you need help or advice on gambling addiction, don't hesitate to contact one of the charities or organisations below.