Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao nearly pulled off a historic feat on July 19 when he went toe-to-toe with WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios in an entertaining 12-round title fight at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao, who was ahead on the judges’ scorecards through the first nine rounds, lost all the championship rounds to Barrios, which resulted in an anti-climactic majority draw.
A win would have catapulted Pacquiao into the history books as the second-oldest boxer to win a world title belt after Bernard Hopkins and the first to have won one after his Hall of Fame induction.
But one judge saw the fight 115-113 for Barrios, while the two other judges had it 114-114.
The 30-year-old Barrios retained his belt in a result that felt like a defeat as the 46-year-old Pacquiao turned back the clock to punish him in the second half of the match.
Mario Barrios Open to Rematch
Pacquiao, an eight-division champion, was the more aggressive fighter in his first match out of a nearly four-year retirement. He looked sharp and had plenty of big punches that electrified the pro-Pacquiao MGM Grand crowd.
“He’s still strong as hell and his timing is real,” Barrios said during the post-fight interview with “He’s still a very awkward fighter to try to figure out. I didn’t think the fight was getting away from me, but I knew I had to step it up to solidify a win. The plan was to press him and try to make him feel old. But he’s still got good legs.
“I’ll do the rematch,” Barrios added. “Absolutely. This was huge for boxing. I’d love to do it again.”
Pacquiao believed in his heart and mind that he had done enough to become a world champion once again.
“I thought I won the fight,” Pacquiao said following the decision.
“It was a close fight. He was very tough. I had to find a way to finish the fight better, but my opponent is so tough. He threw a lot of good combinations and had defense. It was a tough fight.”
According to Compubox stats, Pacquiao landed more power punches against the passive Barrios 81-75, but the Mexican-American champion worked his way back into the fight with his jabs.
Barrios more than doubled Pacquiao’s jabs, 45-20, and outpunched the older yet more energetic foe overall, 120-101.
How Much Manny Pacquiao Will Earn For Coming Out of Retirement
Pacquiao’s ageless performance will earn him a cool $17 to $18 million, including pay-per-view shares, according to Marca.
It was a good payday for Pacquiao, who lost a good chunk of his wealth in the 2022 presidential elections and 2025 senatorial elections in the Philippines.
Pacquiao, who grew up in poverty, has an estimated $575 million in career earnings as a boxer — or $775 million adjusted for inflation, before facing Barrios, according to Sporting News.
Pacquiao has brought in nearly $1.3 billion in revenue in his pay-per-view fights, with $400 million coming from his highly publicized 2015 fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Pacquiao raked in an estimated $130 million from the bout.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Pacquiao has an estimated net worth of $220 million.
On the other hand, Barrios will earn no more than $2.5 million. While the champion’s earnings pale in comparison to Pacquiao’s, it represents the biggest single-fight earnings of his career, according to Marca.
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