PREFIGHT
Loud chants of "MANNY, MANNY, MANNY" before either fighter enters the arena. Barrera looks focused during the singing of the national anthems while Pacquiao is all smiles. Unofficial weights for tonight: Pacquiao 144 and Barrera 138. Barrera makes his way to the ring first...a calm and slow walk as he pumps his fist to the fans in attendance. He's got somewhat of an unsure look on his face when he steps into the ring...perhaps just taking it all in one last time. Pacquiao enters next with a serious look on his face, but he can't hold back the smiles as he jogs to the ring. More chants of "MANNY, MANNY, MANNY!" Michael Buffer gives the ring announcements. "FOR THE THOUSANDS IN ATTENDANCE AND THE MILLIONS WATCHING AROUND THE WORLD...LADIES AND GENTLEMEN....LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLEEEEEEEEEEE!"
ROUND 1
There's the bell. Barrera comes out working the jab. Pacquiao looks patient. Barrera unleashes a right hook that's partially blocked. Pacquiao still being patient and fires a jab. Pacquiao lands a right to the body. Barrera lands a left to the body. Pacquiao seems focused on the body as well. Barrera lands his jab. Now Pacquiao lands his jab. Barrera lands a straight right. Now Pacquiao lands a lead straight left. Cautious round by both fighters. Barrera lands a left hook to the body. Quick 1-2 lands for Pacquiao. Pacquiao pressing the action now. Right hand over the top lands for Pacquiao. Another 1-2 lands for Pacquiao. Very close round. Very close round. I give it to Pacquiao for landing the more telling shots.
Pacquiao 10 Barrera 9
ROUND 2
Barrera back to working the jab. Pacquiao lands a 1-2. Barrera lands a left to the body. Pacquiao lands a 1-2. Pacquiao stalking while Barrera continues to circle and jab. Pacquiao touches Barrera with his jab. Straight left lands for Pacquiao. HARD left hand lands for Pacquiao, but Barrera answer with one of his own. Pacquiao landing the straight left again. Pacquiao lands a left of his own. Now Barrera lands three right hands over the top. Barrera continues to circle and fire the jab. Pacquiao just misses with a big right hand, but the crowd seemed to like it. Round to Pacquiao, but Barrera is starting to box nicely.
Pacquiao 20 Barrera 18
ROUND 3
Pacquiao pressing the action as he backs Barrera up to the ropes and lets his hands go. Barrera circles off the ropes. Pacquiao continues to stalk as Barrera looks tentative. Pacquiao lands a nice left hand. Woooo...nice overhand right from Barrera lands and backs Pacquiao up. Straight left lands for Pacquiao. Barrera working the jab. Pacquiao talking a little smack to Barrera as they clinch. Pacquiao lands a right hand over the top. Barrera backs up and eats a jab from Pacquiao. Now Barrera lands a jab. Round to Pacquiao.
Pacquiao 30 Barrera 27
ROUND 4
Barrera just out of reach with his jab. Pacquiao trying to cut the ring off. Pacquiao lands a right to the body. 1-2 lands for Pacquiao and Barrera ties him up. Straight left lands for Pacquiao. Left to the body lands for Pacquiao. Barrera looking a little confused with Pacquiao's movement now. Pacquiao lands a right and Barrera gets angry and starts letting his hands go. Barrera lands a right. They trade body shots. Straight left lands for Pacquiao. Pacquiao lands a right over the top. Barrera covers up. Hard left hook from Pacquiao gets Barrera's attention. Barrera just isn't active enough. Round to Pacquiao.
Pacquiao 40 Barrera 36
ROUND 5
Pacquiao pressing forward behind the jab. Barrera retreats. Left hand lands for Pacquiao. Barrera holds on. HARD right hand to the body lands for Pacquiao. Barrera lands a left to the body and an uppercut. Pacquiao answers with a 1-2. Nice left hook by Barrera has Pacquiao shaking his head. Jab lands for Barrera. HARD right cross lands for Pacquiao. Barrera fights back and they trade along the ropes. Barrera catches Pacquiao with a right hand and a left. Pacquiao fires back, but Barrera got the better of him. Nice right hand lands for Barrera. HARD left by Pacquiao lands...and another. Now Barrera fires back, but Pacquiao lands a big right and a left. Barrera fires back to end the round. Now the fight's heating up. Round to Pacquiao who continues to outwork Barrera, but Barrera had a much better round.
Pacquiao 50 Barrera 45
ROUND 6
Barrera back to working the jab. Pacquiao backs him to a corner and lands some hard punches. Barrera works his way out. Left to the body lands for Barrera. A hard right hand to the body lands for Barrera. Nice right lands for Barrera, but Pacquiao fires back with a big left of his own. Pacquiao lets his hands go and lands a nice three-punch combo. Round to Pacquiao.
Pacquiao 60 Barrera 54
ROUND 7
Hard right hand to the body lands for Barrera. Pacquiao lands a straight left upstairs. Jab lands for Barrera. Hard left down the middle lands for Pacquiao followed by a right hand. Hard right to the body land for Pacquiao. Left to the body lands for Pacquiao. Barrera answers with one of his own. 1-2 lands for Pacquiao. Barrera content to throw an occasional jab. He's got to be more active if he hopes to win these rounds from a guy who continues to come forward throwing punches. 1-2 lands for Pacquiao and Barrera lands a 1-2 of his own to end the round. Round to Pacquiao.
Pacquiao 70 Barrera 63
ROUND 8
Quick 1-2 just grazes Barrera. Barrera lands a right, but eats one in return. Now Pacquiao's jab is landing. Barrera continues to circle and retreat. Nice counter lands for Barrera. Hard right to the body lands for Pacquiao. They trade jabs. Pacquiao lands a 1-2. Another 1-2 lands for Pacquiao. Uppercut lands for Pacquiao. Barrera lands a jab. Right hand upstairs lands for Pacquiao. Then a left hand upstairs for Pacquiao lands. Barrera lands a right to the body. Pacquiao lands a left hook that knocks Barrera off balance. Nice four-punch combo lands for Barrera, but it's simply not enough. Round to Pacquiao.
Pacquiao 80 Barrera 72
ROUND 9
Both men slowing down in the action now. Barrera circles away and fires the jab, but he's way out of range to land it. Pacquiao lands a left to the body. Barrera lands a right over the top. Barrera lands a right to the body. Pacquiao lands a jab. Another jab lands for Pacquiao. Nice three-punch combo lands for Pacquiao and Barrera retreats to the ropes. Nice 1-2 lands for Barera, but he eats a right and a left in return. Barrera lands a decent three-punch combo. HARD straight left lands for Pacquiao. Round to Pacquiao...Barrera just looks way too tentative in there....like a guy who's ready for retirement.
Pacquiao 90 Barrera 81
ROUND 10
Barrera on the retreat. Pacquiao continues to walk him down. Nice jab lands for Barrera. Pacquiao backs Barrera up to the ropes. Both men just out of reach of each other. Not much action as Barrera is content to circle and stay away. Right hand to the body lands for Barrera. Pacquiao lands a left. Nice combo lands for Barrera. Barrera lands a punch to the back of Pacquiao's head during a clinch. The crowd boos. Pretty boring round, but round to Barrera who was able to stay away and land more jabs.
Pacquiao 99 Barrera 91
ROUND 11
Hard right cross lands for Pacquiao. Pacquiao lands a jab. Straight left lands for Pacquiao. 1-2 lands for Pacquiao. Barrera ties him up. Right to the body lands for Barrera. Pacquiao lands a jab. Nice three-punch combo lands for Pacquiao. Barrera answers with a 1-2 of his own. Pacquiao looks ready to mix it up as he runs back to the center of the ring. HARD left hand lands for Pacquiao. WOOOOOO...another left hand from Pacquiao has Barrera wobbled. They clinch and butt heads and Barrera hits him with a late hit after the break. A break in the action. Wow. Tony Weeks takes a point from Barrera for hitting after the break. The action resumes. They trade jabs. Pacquiao continues to stalk. Barrera coneintues to retreat with a huge gash in his cheek from the headbutt. Round to Pacquiao.
Pacquiao 109 Barrera 99
ROUND 12
The last and final round and Barrera is still content to keep it on the outside. Pacquiao lands a straight left. Right hand lands for Pacquiao. Barrera holds on. Left hook lands for Pacquiao. Barrera tries to get his jab working. 1-2 lands for Pacquiao. Jab lands for Pacquiao. Barrera lands a right to the body. Pacquiao waves him in. Barrera retreats. Pacquiao lands a left hand. Barrera lands a left and then dances away. Pacquiao lands a left. And with 10 seconds left in the fight, neither fighter throws a punch. Weak way to go into retirement. Round to Pacquiao.
Pacquiao 119 Barrera 108
All three judges score the bout:
Jerry Roth: 118-109
Tom Schreck: 115-112
Glenn Trowbridge: 118-109
The winner by unanimous decision.....
MANNY PACQUIAO
Compubox:
Pacquiao total punches: 249/667
Barrera total punches: 111/527
Pacquiao total power punches: 169/306
Barrera total power punches: 75/215
Pacquiao total jabs: 80/361
Barrera total jabs: 36/312
POSTFIGHT
Pacquiao said that he knew Barrera was going to try and outbox him. He says he's satisfied with the win and that he just wanted to put on a good fight for the fans. Pacquiao says he was careful in the fight because Barrera is still a good fighter. Then Merchant turns to interview Barrera and accidentally calls him Manny. Barrera says he thought he was doing a good job of outboxing him until he got hit with the headbutt. He says it was difficult to break through Pacquiao defense and that he's happy that it's his last fight and he was able to finish with Golden Boy Promotions. Manny Steward says he can forgive Barrera's performance tonight because he's been in so many past wars.