Mario Barrios, left, fights Manny Pacquiao in a welterweight title boxing match Saturday, July 19, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher) (John Locher/Associated Press)

LAS VEGAS - The moment Mario Barrios signed up for the money, this was the gamble.

That 46-year-old hands could move more quickly than anyone thought.

That a packed house would jump at every reason to believe in a legend again.

That a crowd could chant a middle-aged man's name so loudly and so often, it would shave miles off his legs and gray from his beard.

And sure enough, Barrios was up against it all at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday night. With three rounds left in a WBC welterweight world title fight, he trailed Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao on all three judges' scorecards.

So on a night when nobody walked out of the building happy?

At least one man could walk out relieved.

A majority draw is how this one ended, but it wasn't what Barrios planned for the most hyped bout involving a San Antonio fighter since he was born 30 years ago. Oddsmakers pegged him as a 2-to-1 favorite over the shorter, much older guy who'd served as a senator in the Philippines since he last boxed 47 months ago, and many thought those odds were selling Barrios short.

Not only was this sure to be the biggest payday of his career, it was supposed to be the night he acquired boxing immortality through the transitive property. If he could beat the only man ever to win world championships in eight different divisions, in the arena where Pacquiao had fought more times than anyone else, wouldn't Barrios have a claim to greatness no one ever would deny?

Well, that and a reported paycheck of over $1 million were the reasons Barrios agreed to accept what was guaranteed to be an unpopular job. He wore a Spurs baseball cap to the arena Saturday, and it fit in more ways than one.

Mario Barrios, left, fights Manny Pacquiao in a welterweight title boxing match Saturday, July 19, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher) (John Locher/Associated Press)

After all, Barrios isn't the first champion from San Antonio too respected to be a villain, but not flashy enough to win over a national audience.

There was no doubt how most people - the sellout crowd of 13,107, the pay-per-view audience at home, and especially the people in charge of the boxing industry's purse strings - wanted this to go. A Pacquiao victory would've meant another big-money title bout that would dwarf whatever Barrios does next without him. And even if you're not that conspiratorial, you still have to consider human nature.

In Barrios' corner after the ninth round, with the arena's "Manny! Manny! Manny!" chants reaching a fever pitch, trainer Bob Santos certainly thought about it.

"A lot of times when the crowd gets going," trainer Bob Santos said, "people get influenced."

By "people," Santos meant three in particular, and they were the ones in charge of picking a winner. From start to finish, the fight was undeniably close, with Barrios rebounding well after looking a bit daunted by the stage at first, and Pacquiao unleashing plenty of mesmerizing flurries in which punches didn't always land.

The Southwest High School alumnus thought he was ahead all along. But after the ninth round?

"I did feel the need to pick it up," Barrios said.

He did. Barrios didn't overwhelm down the stretch, but he was more cognizant of finishing each round, realizing that those were the stretches when the cagy Pacquiao had stolen a few points on the scorecard.

And when Santos lifted Barrios into the air after the final bell, many in the crowd scoffed. Even if Barrios had finished strong, weren't the judges sure to find a reason to reward the sentimental favorite?

Mario Barrios, left, and Manny Pacquiao reacts after fighting to a majority draw in a welterweight title boxing match Saturday, July 19, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher) (John Locher/Associated Press)

As it turned out, Barrios had convinced them to do otherwise. He won the last three rounds on all three scorecards, putting him ahead on one and forcing a tie on both of the others. The result was that he doesn't get to claim a victory over a Hall of Famer, but he does retain his title.

It's unclear if Pacquiao, who was trying to join Bernard Hopkins and George Foreman as fighters who'd claimed a world title past the age of 45, would be interested in another chance to take it from him. But if he is?

"No hesitation," Barrios said. "If he wants to run it back, that would be his choice. … If not, we'll move on to the next big thing."

There's a distinct possibility, of course, that nothing in Barrios' career ever will be bigger than this. That's not his fault. He's been an admirable champion, just like Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez, another San Antonian who kept a title belt on Saturday night.

It's just that no other opponent is Pacquiao. That was the opportunity Barrios had Saturday night, and the gamble he made.

He did not win that bet.

But considering how it could have gone?

Barrios had every reason to feel like he did.