All-time great Manny Pacquiao can wake up feeling like a winner today, as well as feeling like a hero and an incredible fighter who proved so many people wrong last night in Las Vegas. Going into his comeback challenge of 30-year-old Mario Barrios, the reigning WBC welterweight champion, many critics stated how Manny’s coming back at the age of 46 was a sad thing, that it was dangerous, that it was a foolish idea.
Manny Pacquiao: Elite Performance at 46
Well, although Pacquiao didn’t get the win over Barrios, he sure proved he can still fight at an elite level, and the majority draw handed in by the three judges cannot dampen either Pacquiao’s spirits or those of his fans. A moral winner if ever there was one, Pac-Man succeeded in rolling back the years, and he came within an inch of breaking his own record as the oldest welterweight champion in boxing history.
Pacquiao, 62-8-3(39) fought a great fight, and without being disrespectful to Barrios, last night’s performance from the Filipino dynamo showed us all in clear fashion what a prime Manny would have done to the defending champ. But Pac-Man, who was in his prime from 2008 to 2011, almost did it at his advanced age. The comeback is certain to continue as a result.
Pacquiao-Barrios Rematch: What’s Next?
It seems inevitable that Pacquiao and Barrios will fight again, and this time, maybe, Pacquiao will get the win. That said, as good as he looked last night, for his age we must stress, it is possible Manny fought his last great fight, that a return with Barrios, 29-2-2(18) would not be as close or as competitive. But Manny deserves the chance, yet another chance, to try again.
It was no sad spectacle in Vegas; it was no mismatch or beatdown. Instead, we saw a good fight and an amazing display from one of the greatest fighters of all time. Shame on those people who tore into Pacquiao for daring to push the boundaries of human sporting achievement.
Eight-Division Champ: Another Title Bid
And credit to the sport’s only eight-division world champion for coming this close to picking up yet another world title.