On Jul. 19 in Las Vegas, after four years out of the ring, eight weight division former champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao (62-8-3, 39 KOs) came out of retirement at the age of 46 to challenge WBC welter weight champion Mario Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs) for his 147 lbs. title.
Pacquiao was aiming to again become the oldest fighter to capture the welterweight crown. He previously accomplished this feat when he defeated WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman back in 2019 to win the WBA title. But in 2021, Pacquiao was defeated by Yordenis Ugas, losing the title.
Prior to the Las Vegas fight, many critics felt that Pacquiao was too old and had been retired too long to present a challenge to the young champion. Some suggested that if Pacquiao were to defeat Barrios, he could possibly have a dream fight with WBA welterweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis or possibly tempt Floyd “Money” Mayweather into giving him a rematch, which would be 10 years in the making.
Back in 2015, Pacquiao and Mayweather fought in a lucrative blockbuster fight which Pacquiao lost, supposedly due to a shoulder injury.
Pacquiao fights against either Davis or Mayweather are no longer pipe dreams. Pacquiao showed speed, power, and flashiness over 12 rounds against Barrios. He even appeared to score a knockdown in the second round over the young champion, but the ref ruled it a slip.
Pacquiao would go on to win, in this writer’s opinion, seven rounds with only five rounds going to Barrios. Officially, at the end of the fight one judge scored it 115-113 for Barrios while the other two judges scored the bout 114-114, or a draw. At the post-fight press conference, Pacquiao and Barrios both said that they had won the fight. The two fighters therefore are likely headed for a rematch, as Pacquiao stated he is back in boxing and gave no hint of retirement.
On the undercard, WBC junior middle weight champion six foot six inch Sebastian “Towering Inferno” Fundora (23-1-1,14 KOs) rematched with former WBO Jr. middle weight champion Tim Tszyu (25-3, 18 KOs). Fundora previously defeated Tszyu with an upset split decision victory back in March 2024. In that fight, Fundora was a late replacement for former WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman, who withdrew from the Tszyu fight due to injury. An accidental elbow from Fundora badly cut Tszyu’s scalp during that bout, causing blood to run into Tszyu eyes and obscuring his vision. Tszyu cited that was the cause of his loss to Fundora in 2024.
Going into the rematch, Tszyu said that he was going to “war” and ready to die. In contrast, Fundora had said his presumption was that Tszyu was able to fight during their first bout despite the cut to his scalp because if he was not, Tszyu’s cornermen or trainer should or would have stopped the fight. Needless to say, both fighters had something to prove in this rematch.
At the sound of the opening bell, both fighters came out aggressive looking to land heavy shots against the other. Fundora scored a knockdown against Tszyu in the first round. Tszyu to his credit got up and threw heavy shots of his own. It was “toe to toe” action between these two fighters as it appeared no one would back down. The action continued to heat up through round seven, with Fundora leading on the scorecards. Then, inexplicably, Tszyu opted not to continue for the eighth round. Basically, Tszyu quit, so Fundora was awarded the TKO victory.
In the post-fight interview, Tszyu stated he couldn’t overcome Fundora and called him a “tough motherfucker.” This was a surprising statement from a fighter who blamed his first loss on a scalp cut.
Fundora, in his post-fight interview, said that being more aggressive against Tszyu was the key to his victory. The sky appears to be the limit for Fundora as there are lucrative fights in his division against fighters such as Vergil Ortiz, Jaron “Boots” Innis, Jermell Charlo, and Errol Spence.
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Contact Writer: RLuvsboxing@aol.com