Manny Pacquiao and Mario Barrios Fight to a Draw; Fundora stops Tim Tszyu

Tonight, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Manny Pacquiao attempted to become the first boxer to enter the Boxing Hall of Fame and win a world title in the same year.

He almost pulled it off!

In a fight that could have gone either way, Mario “El Azteca” Barrios nicked the last three rounds to salvage a draw and retain his WBC world welterweight title. The scores were 115-113 (Barrios) and 114-114 twice.

The presumption was that Pac Man’s 46-year-old legs would betray him if the fight went long, but although Manny faded a bit in the homestretch, he looked as if he could have fought another three rounds at the finish. The man is truly a miracle on a day when two all-time greats, Oleksandr Usyk and Manny, buttressed their legacies on different continents.

It was the second straight stalemate for San Antonio’s Barrios (29-2-2), the younger man by 16 years. After the fight, Pacquiao (62-8-3) said he would like to keep fighting and that he would welcome a rematch with Mario Barrios.

Co-Feature

Sebastian Fundora successfully defended his WBA 154-pound title when Tim Tszyu retired on his stool after seven rounds. It was their second meeting. Fundora won their first encounter on a split decision and, although the decision was fair, there were extenuating circumstances and Fundora was a slight underdog for the rematch.

It was an uphill battle for the Aussie after he was knocked to the canvas in the opening round with a straight left hand and then suffered a cut over his right eye in round two. The “Towering Inferno,” with his 9 1/2-inch reach advantage and southpaw style, had all the wrong style for Tszyu, but the son of the great Kostya Tszyu made this interesting, drawing blood from Fundora’s nose in round four and rocking him several times in round six before Fundora rallied late to steal the round.

“He’s tall as f***,” said Tszyu in his post-fight interview with Jim Gray. “Sometimes I felt I was shadow boxing with myself. Congratulation to him and his team.”

Fundora improved to 23-1 (15 KOs). It was the second bad loss in the last three starts for Tszyu who was once thought to be a budding global superstar.

Fundora has a decision to make. He reportedly has been accepted into the 6-year engineering program at Harvard.

Undercard

Gary Russell Jr, now 37 years old, returned to the ring after an absence of three-and-a-half years and looked like the Russell of old, knocking down Tex-Mex Hugo Castaneda four times before referee Harvey Dock finally rescued him at the 26-second mark of the 10^th and final round.

Russell, at one time the longest reigning title-holder in the sport, improved to 32-2 (19). The brave Castaneda, a glutton for punishment, slumps to 15-3-1.

In a 10-round battle of Mexican super lightweights, Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz pitched a virtual shutout over late sub Omar Salcido. The scores were 100-88 and 99-89 twice.

A third-generation prizefighter and one of Mexico’s most popular boxers, Cruz came out like gangbusters and finished with a flourish. In the interim, Salcido weathered the storms fighting on the retreat.

In the final round, referee Mark Nelson, after several warnings, deducted a point from Salcido for holding and Cruz, who advanced to 28-3-1 (18), scored the bout’s lone knockdown, knocking Salcido to his knees. Salcido (20-3), who was already on the card in a scheduled 8-rounder, was bumped up when Pitbull’s original opponent Angel Fierro became so dehydrated in an attempt to make weight that he was hospitalized.

The opener of the main card was a furious featherweight contest between Brandon Figueroa and Joet Gonzalez who fought at close quarters for 12 hard rounds and were credited with landing a combined 1895 punches.

Figueroa, the Weslaco (TX) “Heartbreaker,” came on strong down the stretch to win a unanimous but mildly unpopular decision. The judges had it 115-113 and 116-112 twice.

A three-time world title challenger, LA’s Gonzalez suffered his fifth loss in 32 starts. He suffered a cut on his right eyelid in the third round and was more marked-up at the finish. Figueroa, a former WBC/WBO super bantamweight world title-holder, fighting his first fight with Manny Robles in his corner, improved to 26-2-1.

Prelims

At age 37, Gary Russell Jr returned to the ring after a 3 ½-year absence and showed no sign of ring rust. The former long-reigning WBC featherweight champion, fighting as a lightweight, ran roughshod over Tex-Mex Hugo Castaneda, knocking him down four times before referee Harvey Dock pulled the plug at the 26-second mark of the 10^th and final round.

Russell advanced to 32-2 (19 KOs). A glutton for punishment, the brave but overmatched Castaneda slumped to 15-3-1.

Mexico’s David Picasso moved closer to a potential fight with Naoya Inoue with a 10-round majority decision over Japan’s Kyonosuke Kameda. The judges had it 98-92, 97-93, and 95-95.

Picasso, 32-0-1 (17), did nothing to show that he would be competitive against “The Monster” who has a date with Murodjon Akhmadaliev in September. Kameda falls to 15-5-2.

In a 10-round super featherweight contest, Mark Magsayo improved to 28-2 (18) with a wide unanimous decision over Jorge Mata (21-3-2). The scores (98-92, 100-90 x2) were somewhat misleading as Guadalajara’s Mata acquitted himself well in his first appearance on U.S. soil.

Also

Manny Pacquiao stablemate Eumir Marcial, a two-time Olympian, improved to 6-0 (4) with a third-round stoppage of 35-year-old New England campaigner Bernard Joseph (13-3-1). A bronze medalist in Tokyo, the Filipino middleweight hasn’t ruled out a third crack at Olympic gold.

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