"Boxing is such a rigged sport" - Fans slam Mario Barrios vs. Manny Pacquiao majority draw

Manny Pacquiao looked like he turned back the clock in Las Vegas, but the judges called his fight against Mario Barrios a majority draw.

The boxing legend returned after four years to chase another world title against a younger and sharper Barrios. Pacquiao showed signs of his old brilliance with bursts of speed and well-timed flurries.

He pressed forward from the opening bell and had Barrios guessing through the early rounds. Barrios took his time to settle and leaned on his range and size eventually.

He attacked Pacquiao’s body to drain the output and kept attacking with jabs and straight rights. The champion’s corner urged him to step it up when they saw the fight slipping away, and he responded in the last three rounds. Barrios put combinations together late that pushed Pacquiao onto the ropes.

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One judge scored the fight in favor of Barrios while the other two called it a draw. Outrage spilt online as netizens took to X to lambast the decision. One fan wrote:

"They robbed Manny Pacquiao. Boxing is such a rigged sport."

Check out the X post below:

Meanwhile, other fans wrote:

"Need to get rid of draws and go to an overtime round. Also, make the scores live as the fight goes on." "Why does boxing do an even number of rounds? UFC does odd rounds, and so they don't get draws unless there's a point deduction." "Robbed! Fire the judges." "They're going to stretch this into a rematch. Helps Barrios avoid the killers in his division a little while longer and get two big consecutive pay days before he loses the title." "Paper champion Barrios fought like a challenger and not a champion. He gave Pacquiao way too much respect. He even looked happy with the draw. He should be embarrassed."

Check out some of the fan reactions below:

Fans react to Mario Barrios vs. Manny Pacquiao being scored a majority draw. [Screenshots courtesy: Fan accounts on X]

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Edited by Abhishek Nambiar