Manny Pacquiao wins the night, not the fight, as he thrills in boxing return

San Francisco Chronicle​

3 days ago

LAS VEGAS — The Fighting Pride of the Philippines and boxing's one and only eight-division champion left his home away from home Saturday night, his health intact and his fanbase fervent.
Thirty years after he first boxed professionally, Manny Pacquiao commands an adoring crowd — whether he wrangled the WBC welterweight championship away from Mario Barrios.
Or not.
Pacquaio's bid to break his record as boxing's oldest welterweight champion — he was 40 when he floored Keith Thurman in 2019, subsequently claiming his WBA welterweight strap — was foiled at MGM Grand Garden by a 115-113, 114-114, 114-114 majority draw atop a card presented by Premier Boxing Champions that ended his four-year retirement. The judging panel didn't succumb to the chants of 'Manny' or his famed fast-handed flurries, nor did Pacquiao bend to the will of a bigger champion 16 years his junior.
The crowd of 13,107 bemoaned the decision upon its announcement by ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr., snazzily clad and cloaked in class. Front-footed combos that stirred spectators speckled again in royal blue, crimson red, white and gold were offset on the scorecards, mostly by the champion's jab.
Punch stats provided by CompuBox posited a 120-101 edge for Barrios — deeming more power punches (81-75) for Pacquiao, who basked in his everlasting adoration atop a turnbuckle when the fight concluded. That the street urchin turned senator fought again so admirably is a testament to his all-time greatness and an indictment against a weakened welterweight division.
'I thought I won the fight,' Pacquiao, 46, told post-fight interviewer Jim Gray — affirming his opinion 45 minutes later during his post-fight news conference. Barrios, 30, acknowledged to Gray it 'was an honor to share the ring with' Pacquiao. '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.'
Fight week felt familiar inside the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas Strip, where Pacquiao's star turned in 2001 — persisting almost 25 years later. The packed hotel lobby buzzed with excitement (and whatever else) and the corridors leading to the Garden were clogged with onlookers hoping to draw from Pacquiao's legend.
No, Pacquiao (62-8-3, 39 knockouts) needn't prizefight anymore after first retiring in 2021, competitive but beaten then by Yordenis Ugas amid 42-year-old fatigue. Two years after Ugas sent Pacquiao packing at the nearby T-Mobile Arena, Barrios twice dropped him to win a decision.
The former Cuban champion hasn't fought since.
Pacquiao's privilege as a living legend garnered him Saturday's title shot as one of the lasting vestiges of boxing stardom on the Las Vegas Strip. In Pacquiao's heyday, he packed the city, scintillated crowds and sold millions and millions of pay-per-views. Nowadays, premier prize fights — though the Sept. 13 undisputed 168-pound title fight between megastar Canelo Alvarez pound-for-pound great Terence Crawford, set instead for Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas — are often staged in Saudi Arabia, where General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Alalshikh (who is bankrolling the bout between Alvarez and Crawford) resides as boxing's newest power broker.
But there's nothing like fight night at MGM Grand Garden, especially when Pacquiao tops the bill. Cornered again by longtime trainer Freddie Roach, Pacquiao told Gray afterward 'I hope this is an inspiration to boxers that if you have discipline and work hard, you can still fight at this age.'
Boxing's hallowed venue of valor was home to Floyd Mayweather, Mike Tyson and Oscar De La Hoya among other living legends and greats. But no prize fighter has fought there more than Pacquiao, honored with a black banner hanging from the rafters, unveiled Friday following the weigh-in.
'HE'S BACK' it reads in white, noting his venue-record 16th fight that broke a tie with Mayweather.
Pacquiao was 22 debuting stateside at the Garden, ending his vacation in San Francisco prematurely to upset IBF super bantamweight champion Lehlo Ledwaba via six-round stoppage. The fill-in opponent on June 23, 2001 (booked to fight Ledwaba with two weeks' notice) would fill the arena over and over and over again — fighting the most ferocious competition, often bending the will of bigger men.
Enshrined last month in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, he said post-fight 'I want to leave a legacy and make the Filipino people proud.'
Always has.
Always will.
Filipino fight fans roared with pride when Pacquiao was shown on the jumbotron during an undercard capped by WBC super welterweight champion Sebastian Fundora's seventh-round demolition of Tim Tszyu. They roared with pride amid his ringwalk as Survivor's 'Eye of the Tiger' filled the arena with nostalgia — again. They roared with pride when he ripped combinations toward the face and torso of his younger foe, fighting back when Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs) attacked.
'His stamina is crazy,' according to Barrios, a native of San Antonio and the welterweight division's most vulnerable champion, dropped in his last fight, another draw against veteran gatekeeper Abel Ramos. 'He's still strong as hell and his timing is real. He's still a very awkward fighter to try to figure out.'
Barrios couldn't quite figure out Pacquiao, employing a youthful, snapping jab sans the ilk of physicality and pressure apropos against a fighter 16 years his senior. No wonder the judges determined Barrios didn't do enough to earn an outright win. He said 'the plan was to press him and try to make him feel old, but he's still got good legs.'
His fighting spirit also intact, Pacquaio noted afterward he thinks he'll return to the ring again, beckoned back into Saturday by his everlasting love and passion for boxing: 'I worked hard and stayed disciplined. I always keep my body in shape so that I can do this.'
Perhaps he didn't win the fight, but Pacquiao indeed won the night.