Draw means Pacquiao to continue fighting until he is 64

By Alex P. Vidal 

“Give me your answer, fill in a form, Mine forevermore. Will you still need me, will you still feed me, When I’m sixty-four?” —The Beatles

NOW that they have given him reason to continue chasing for that elusive WBC belt with a 115-113, 114-114, 114-114 majority draw after 12 rounds against champion Mario Barrios (29-2-1,18 KOs) July 19 in Las Vegas, we expect Manny Pacquiao (62-8-3, 39 KOs) to continue fighting probably until he is 64 years old.

Battered but unbowed, Pacquiao agreed to face Barrios in a rematch or shoot for another title probably in another alphabet world boxing governing body.

Despite his slow but splendid performance against El Azteca, Pacman, 46, can still draw a crowd; the defeated senatorial bet can still make the boxing cash register ring. It will be business as usual.

At least, Pacquiao did not end up flat on his back that would have sent shivers down the spine of boxing authorities who refused to tell him straight benough is enough.

People who truly love Pacquiao care for his future after his “final” retirement. The risk of permanent injury continues to hang over his head like a Sword of Damocles.

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There is no sign he will make a second announcement for retirement. Pacquiao’s skills didn’t betray him; his stamina was solid, and he could have violently put away the lanky Mexican dynamo easily if he was at least 10 years younger.

They could have awarded the fight to Barrios to stop Pacquiao from further inflicting damage to his health by itching to fight more.

One of the two judges who scored 114-114 could have tilted the fight in favor of Barrios if the fight was really close by virtue of his being the defending champion.

But a draw is a draw. And rematch or another chance to shoot for a world title isn’t far-fetched. We all know nobody cared about Pacquiao’s health as long as he continues to amass millions of dollars win or lose—or draw.

We worry that he was allowed to fight at 46 and walked away with a majority draw.

We will worry more when he is 64 and is still fighting.

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In the undercard, Isaac Cruz as expected dominated late substitute Omar Salcido of Hermosillo, Mexico over 10 heats. Weighing 138.8, Cruz was heavily favored to beat Salcido, 139.4, who was coming into Las Vegas on the heels of a decision loss to undefeated Cuban prospect Andy Cruz.

According to Fightnews, Salcido was still seen as perhaps the more natural super lightweight and ringsiders were curious to see if Salcido could exploit Cruz perceived size disadvantage. But it took less than one round to establish that Cruz would have no trouble at 140-pounds.

Cruz dominated the fight from the opening bell, smothering and overwhelming Salcido with crisp shots from all angles and never letting the underdog get into any sort of rhythm.

Salcido won every round and after a one-point deduction was given to Salcido in the final round, Cruz punctuated the fight with a devastated right hand in the final seconds of round ten to send Salcido to the deck.

The scores were academic, with Cruz winning 99-89 on two judges’ scorecards and 100-88 on another.

With the win Cruz not only captured the interim WBC belt but also saw his record improve to 28-3-2, 18 KOs. Salcido fell to 20-4, 14 KOs.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)