Manny Pacquiao, 46, battles Mario Barrios to majority draw - ESPN

LAS VEGAS — More than 24 years after Manny Pacquiao made his stateside debut at the MGM Grand Garden Arena by upsetting Lehlo Ledwaba for the IBF junior featherweight title, the Filipino sensation attempted to make history as the oldest fighter to win the welterweight championship at the very arena where it all started.

But Pacquiao, 46, fell short in his attempt when his fight with WBC champion Mario Barrios ended in a majority draw Saturday night. Barrios retained his title as a result, and Pacquiao left Las Vegas empty handed.

«I thought I won the fight,» a dejected Pacquiao said. «It was a close fight. He was very tough.»

Pacquiao was ahead on all three scorecards going into the 10th round. However, all three judges scored the final three rounds for Barrios, allowing him to retain his title. The result — with two judges scoring it 114-114 and one judge scoring it 115-113 for Barrios — fell flat in front of a capacity crowd of 13,107, most of whom were Pacquiao fans.

Pacquiao (62-8-3, 39 KOs) ended a four-year retirement a month after being inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and started off quickly against Barrios, who is 16 years his junior. The early rounds saw a more vintage version of Pacquiao, a far cry from the sluggish version who lost a decision to Yordenis Ugas in 2021. Boxing's only eight-division world champion brought the crowd to life by launching into his trademark offense, darting his left hand between Barrios' gloves and rolling in with combinations.

But Father Time appeared to have his way with Pacquiao, as the former senator in the Philippines slowed down by the middle rounds.

«I need to continue my training for longer going into a championship fight,» said Pacquiao, who announced