Manny Pacquiao claimed a unanimous decision over Marco Antonio Barrera to retain his WBC super featherweight International title.
End of the line for a legend
Manny Pacquiao claimed a unanimous points decision over Marco Antonio Barrera to retain his WBC super featherweight International championship title in Las Vegas.
The man from the The Philippines got the verdict 118-109 on two judges' scorecards, and 115-112 ahead on the other.
It was Pacquiao's second victory over Barrera after an 11th round TKO in November 2003.
The Mexican legend vowed before the fight that this would be his last.
The fight came to life in the fifth round after a cautious opening as the pair exchanged furious combinations against the ropes.
Dominate
Pacquiao began to dominate after that and was consistently quicker to the punch than the Mexican.
In the 11th, a solid left hand from Pacquiao drove Barrera to the ropes but he fought back with a flurry of punches before being tagged again with another right-left combination.
As the referee moved in to separate them from a clinch, Barrera threw a punch on the break and was deducted a point.
The champion remained in control throughout the final round and was a deserved winner.
"It was a good fight," said Pacquiao. "It was different from our first fight. He is a good, smart boxer. I knew he'd have to box me, and that's what he did."
Barrera said: "He has such a strong defense, it was difficult to break
through. I'm sad because I lost the fight, and he didn't land many
punches. He didn't hurt me. I thought I controlled the fight with my left hand."
