Manny Pacquiao believes he deserved the win in Saturday’s welterweight championship bout against Mario Barrios, and he wants another shot.
“I need to continue my training for longer going into a championship fight,” Pacquiao said after the loss, per ESPN’s Andreas Hale. “Because of the election I started late, but it’s OK. Of course I’d like a rematch. I want to leave a legacy and make the Filipino people proud.”
Pacquiao was retired for four years but announced in May he was returning to the sport after an unsuccessful run for senator in the Philippines.
The International Boxing Hall of Famer tried to become the oldest fighter to win the welterweight championship at 46 years old and nearly did, but Barrios retained his title when the fight ended in a majority draw.
Many in the crowd were unhappy with the result.
“I thought I won the fight,” Pacquiao said. “It was a close fight. He was very tough.”
Hale noted Barrios landed more punches at 120 of 658 (18.2%) compared to Pacquiao’s 101 of 577 (17.5%). However, Pacquiao landed more power punches at 81-75.
The 46-year-old also started quickly and held the lead on all three scorecards entering the 10th round. Yet Barrios retained the title with a strong finishing kick with two judges going 114-114 and the other going 115-113 in Barrios’ favor.
Perhaps age played a factor down the stretch, as Barrios is 16 years younger at 30.
But he saw enough from his older opponent to willingly offer a rematch.
“I’ll do the rematch,” Barrios said. “Absolutely. This was huge for boxing. I’d love to do it again.”
That is exactly what Pacquiao wants.
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