Boxing experts, stars believe Pacquiao won over Barrios

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Controversial results in the sport of the sweet science aren’t new and are already a trend.

In the aftermath of the Manny Pacquiao-Mario Barrios World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight boxing showdown, many stars and experts were still frustrated with the majority draw decision, and believed that the Filipino pride should’ve won the fight.

On July 20, 2025, Pacquiao stunned the whole boxing world after coming out of retirement to challenge Barrios for the WBC welterweight belt, but his comeback performance wasn’t enough to steer him back to the pedestal of the sport.

Two judges had it even in the scorecards, while the last judge scored it in favor of Barrios, 115-113, resulting in a majority draw decision.

A bunch of boxing stars and analysts threw shade at the judges as they strongly disagreed with the draw, claiming that Pacquiao was clearly ahead and should’ve been called the winner in the end.

According to veteran boxing sportscaster Jim Gray, Pacquiao was the obvious winner and added that the result was a shame for boxing.

“It’s a shame for boxing. Two judges, who can’t decide who the winner is, and yes, Barrios is still the champion. But to me, it was an outstanding and amazing performance from a 46-year-old man,” Gray said.

Shawn Porter, a former two-time welterweight champion, also didn’t agree with the judges’ decision and emphasized that Pacquiao’s ring activity and aggressiveness dictated the fight’s pace.

He also criticized Barrios’ performance, saying that he was surprised that he didn’t target Pacquiao’s mid-section and allowed the sport’s only eight-division world champion to capitalize on the dead moments.

“I thought Manny won. Hands down. The activity was just hard to give Mario rounds. No body work for Mario. He left a lot in the ring, and in the corner. Listen, we’ve seen Manny on the ends of bad decisions before,” Porter said.

For Teofimo Lopez, a former two-division world champion, he thought that the fair scorecard was 9-3, in favor of Pacquiao.

“Manny won that sh*t. I had it 9-3. The amount of punches that were connecting, and in every last 10 seconds of the round, he was throwing the more aggressive punches,” Lopez clamored.

Undefeated retired boxing superstar Andre Ward also admitted that Pacquiao won, and even with a loss in the final round, his lead from rounds seven to 10 should be enough to give him the dub.

“I don’t know man. I thought Manny won that. I know he lost the last round, but I thought Manny did more. Manny won the fight! Won by a lot!” Ward said.

Despite the majority draw, Pacquiao was still happy that he was able to entertain the fans and translate his hard work in the past two months into a convincing outing.

When both fighters were asked if they were willing to run it back and set up a second fight, Barrios and Pacquiao had no second thoughts and are seeking an immediate rematch.

“I thought I won the fight. It was a close fight. My opponent was very tough. Barrios is a wonderful fighter,” said Pacquiao after his first pro fight in four years.