Pacquiao survives late foul punch, beats Barrera

HE fought an aggressive but controlled match all throughout, nearly knocked his opponent down and was on the receiving end of a foul punch in the 11th round.

But through it all, Filipino ring hero Manny Pacquiao confirmed what everybody knew all along. There was no way Marco Antonio Barrera was going to beat him.

Pacquiao fashioned a clinical and overwhelmingly unanimous decision victory over Barrera, holding onto the WBC international superfeatherweight belt and, more important, retained his vise-like grip on his division by sending the revered Mexican icon to retirement on a loss at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao actually almost floored Barrera in the 11th round, uncorking a wicked flurry of punches that had the Mexican wobbling and clinching.

It was while referee Tony Meeks was breaking the clinch when Barrera struck a foul punch, hitting Pacquiao in the head and dazing the Filipino for a moment.

Meeks sent both fighters to the corner and deducted a point off Barrera.

"Even before the fight, I knew he was going to box, that's why I prepared hard for that," Pacquiao told a television reporter after the victory.

Two judges saw it 118-109 for Pacquiao, while one judge gave Pacquiao a winning score of 115-112. This coverage scored it 117-114 for the Filipino.

A known slugger, Pacquiao showed great restraint against Barrera, who made it clear that he would rather box than engage Pacquiao in a brawl.

Although the Filipino ring sensation tried to mix it up in close battle all throughout the match, Pacquiao also showed he could box, staying on top in every furious exchange.

Barrera tried to win it through the scorecards, patiently using his jabs and the ring space to force the judges to decide the match, but he could not keep up with Pacquiao's combinations and the speed by which the Pacman threw them.

"I moved all the time with my jabs," Barrera said in a television interview. "[But] he (Pacquiao) threw so many combinations."

Barrera said he was happy he managed to stay on his feet until the final bell.

"I was disappointed with the result, but that's sports," he said.

And then he announced that this was going to be his last fight.

"I am finished," he said.

Pacquiao, on the other hand, has one more name to get to cement a claim nobody seems to be contesting anyway: That of being the best super featherweight in the world.

Waiting on the wings is a possible rematch with reigning world champion Juan Manuel Marquez, who fought Pacquiao to a controversial draw after getting knocked down thrice in the first round.

Pacquiao has previously beaten Erik Morales twice and carved out wins against Jorge Solis and Oscar Larios. Barrera and Larios were the only ones who avoided getting knocked out by the Pacman.

Posted by : francis ochoa

Pacquiao scores unanimous decision

WITH the match going to the scorecards, Manny Pacquiao won a unanimous decision over Marco Antonio Barrera in their Will to Win rematch at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas.

The judges scored the bout for Pacquiao overwhelmingly, with two of them giving the Filipino a 118-109 edge and another handing Pacquiao a 115-112 victory.

This coverage saw it at 117-114 infavor of Pacquiao.

Posted by : francis ochoa

Pacquiao-Barrera Round 12

MANNY Pacquiao fought a controlled but aggressive 12th round, holding off Marco Antonio Barrera's last-ditch effort to turn the match around.

Pacquiao fought the 12th like he did the first, except that he no longer left himself as open to Marco Antonio Barrera's attack.

Barrera, sensing he needed a knockout, tried in vain to find an opening to get it, but couldn't get past Pacquiao's jab.

Pacquiao continued to engage Barrera despite being comfortable ahead on points, showing just how conditioned he was for this match. Barrera survived the round and the match went to the scorecards.

Posted by : francis ochoa

Pacquiao-Barrera Round 11

MANNY Pacquiao cuts Marco Antonio Barrera under the right eye and pressures Barrera, rocking the Mexican hard and almost knocking him out.

A wicked series of right-left combinations sends Barrera wobbly, and the Mexican suddenly turns to a dirty trick, striking Pacquiao's head while they were being broken off a clinch by referee Tony Meeks.

A visibly hurt and wobbly Barrera is stripped of a point.

Posted by : francis ochoa

Pacquiao-Barrera Round 10

MARCO Antonio Barrera applied pressure early but failed to sustain it, allowing Manny Pacquiao to come back each time.

Pacquiao tries to cut the ring size by engaging the Mexican in a closed-quarters type of brawl, but Barrera sidesteps the tactic, consistently stepping out of the Pacman's range.

Posted by : francis ochoa

Pacquiao-Barrera Round 9

MANNY Pacquiao had Marco Antonio Barrera against the ropes twice in this round, but each time, the Mexican warrior wisely sidestepped a possible barrage.

Pacquiao unleashed combinations here and there, putting the 1-2 out in an effort to wear down Barrera, who seemed content to settle into counter-punching.

Posted by : francis ochoa

Pacquiao-Barrera Round 8

Marco Antonio Barrera scored big in this round, unleashing a 1-2 combination off a counter-attack after Manny Pacquiao left his face open.

Pacquiao tried to salvage the rounds with a right-left-right combination to the head and, later in the right, a series of 1-2 combos that saw his pet left hitting Barrera's face.

But Barrera came back towards the end of the round.

Posted by : francis ochoa

Pacquiao-Barrera Round 7

ACTION somehow tapers off, although Manny Pacquiao took control of the seventh, mixing up combinations to the head with blows to Marco Antonio Barrera's right midsection.

Pacquiao's corner told him to go for the right side more consistently going into the eighth round.

Posted by : francis ochoa

Pacquiao-Barrera Round 6

AFTER previous rounds that could have gone either way, Manny Pacquiao finally put together a dominating round, unleashing powerful combinations in a wild exchange that saw Marco Antonio Barrera leaning back into the ropes.

Barrera was actually the first to get a shot in, rocking Pacquiao with a right counter-punch that seemed to hurt Pacquiao.

But Pacquiao came back hard and stung Barrera with a couple of left-right combinations.

Pacquiao returned to his corner with his cornermen telling him to steady the pacing of his breathing.

Posted by : francis ochoa

Pacquiao-Barrera Round 5

BOTH fighters step up the heat and really start mixing it up.

Pacquiao scores early, sneaking in his pet left that snaps Barrera, but the Mexican found his way back, managing to rock the Filipino with a vicious uppercut.

Then the fight turns into a crowd-pleasing brawl as both fighters start to hurt each other with furious combinations.

Posted by : francis ochoa