Manny Pacquiao battles through all rounds to secure a majority draw against Mario Barrios

Manny Pacquiao's attempt to reclaim a boxing world title at age 46 came up just short, as his comeback fight against WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios ended in a majority draw Saturday night in Las Vegas, with Barrios doing enough in the final round to avoid defeat.

Pacquiao (62-8-3, 39 knockouts) is fighting for the first time in nearly four years howerver, showed little ring rust, gaining the upper hand early and stacking additional rounds midway through his record-setting 16th appearance at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Barrios, 16 years younger than the former 12-time world champion, survived, however, to keep his belt after two judges scored the fight 114-114 and third 115-113 in favor of Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs). It was the second consecutive draw for Barrios, who previous fight Nov. 15 ended in a split draw against Abel Ramos in Arlington, Tex.

Barrios stayed consistent, working behind the jab throughout while looking to counter Pacquiao as he stepped inside. Pacquiao found plenty of success in the bout by surging forward with quick combinations while his movement helped him to evade the straight shots of Barrios.

Barrios unknowingly found himself down on the cards late, but turned up the pressure as he brought the fight to Pacquiao in the final rounds to ultimately avoid defeat to the former eight-division world champion.

"I thought I still pulled it out," Barrios stated. "But I still tip my hat to Manny. It was an absolute honor to share the ring with him. To share the ring with somebody with so much experience, who's accomplished so much in the sport ... this, is huge."

To sum up following the fight Pacquiao expressed his desire to continue his career and run it back with Barrios, who welcomed a rematch. “definitely," Barrios stated that a rematch. "This was huge for boxing. This is huge what he and I were able to bring here today. I would love to do it again."

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Marwa O

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