Pacquiao-Barrios fight ends in draw

The American crown holder safely evaded the Filipino boxing legend's onslaught to retain his World Boxing Council welterweight title via majority draw on Saturday night (Sunday, July 20 in Manila) before a mammoth gathering at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

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"It was an honor to share the ring with him. 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," said Barrios.

Younger, taller, and tactically versatile, the 30-year-old Barrios steered clear of the mayhem that Pacquiao brought throughout their full-length confrontation, which went to the scorecards.

Judges Tim Cheatham and Steve Weisfeld saw it 114-all while Max De Luca's verdict sided with the defending champion, 115-113.

"I thought I won the fight. It was close. I had to find a way to finish the fight, but my opponent was so tough. He threw a lot of good combinations and had defense," said Pacquiao, who consistently pressed on with a hostile approach in the middle rounds.

The finest moments for the only eight-division world champion came in the eighth round where Pacquiao landed a thunderclap of punches in the last 30 seconds, elevating the pressure on his foe and eliciting loud cheers from the raving crowd.