Boxing

Teddy Atlas Reveals Where Manny Pacquiao 'Stumbled' In Draw vs Mario Barrios

Teddy Atlas delivered a telling assessment of Manny Pacquiao's draw against Mario Barrios.
Grant Young|
Hall of Fame boxing legend Manny Pacquiao on June 3, 2025.
Hall of Fame boxing legend Manny Pacquiao on June 3, 2025. | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

In his first professional fight in about four years, Manny "Pac Man" Pacquiao fought to a majority draw decision against Mario Barrios, who remained the WBC welterweight champion after the verdict was announced.

This was a victory in many respects for Pacquiao. Given that he is 46 years old and many fans expected to see a lot of ring rust from him (not to mention that he didn't look good in his more recent exhibition fights), the fact that he didn't take too much damage and gave a good account of himself was great for the boxing world to see.

Then again, it wasn't a victory for Pacquiao in the way that mattered most: in terms of what the scorecards read. And since many believe Pacquiao did enough to get his hand raised against Barrios, some fans are claiming that Pacquiao was robbed of making history and claiming yet another championship belt.

Teddy Atlas' boxing opinion holds more weight than most, given all that he's accomplished in his career within the sweet science. And he declared that he doesn't think Pacquiao got robbed, which was revealed in a July 22 episode of The Fight with Teddy Atlas.

"It was not the robbery some people were saying... You want to give it to Manny? Fine. But with your eyes closed, no. That was a close fight. I don't have a problem with the draw," Atlas said of Pacquiao vs. Barrios. He later added, "I think [Pacquiao] was stealing some rounds at the end [of them], whether he deserved them or he didn't deserve them. Whatever, they were close rounds."

Atlas continued by saying, "I thought early on, he stumbled a little bit. I thought his legs were stumbling a little bit, a little bit. Like what you might see in a 46-year-old. But in the end, they got the act together. He used them pretty good."

Atlas was one of the few people who believed Pacquiao could beat Barrios before the fight, which is further proof his stance should be taken as gospel.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.