(October 6, 2007) Las Vegas, Nevada (Mandalay Bay)—-

It is never a good thing when a boxer announces his retirement before a fight. More often than not they have all ready lost their taste for combat somewhere in training camp.

Former two-time world champion Manny Pacquiao fought with fire and passion. Marco Antonio Barrera fought as if he all ready had one foot out the door.

As a result, Pacquiao who had previously halted the legendary Mexican 130-pounder four years ago via an 11th round TKO, this time went the distance in scoring a lopsided 12 round unanimous decision over a former champion all ready protecting his investment portfolio.

The 28-year-old southpaw from General Santos City in the Philippines dominated the scoring throughout the contest with quicker hands, ramrod left crosses, and the same type of fire that many of the 10,112 paying customers have come to expect. The future Hall of Famer Barrera was much more measured, as he struggled to find his rhythm and failed to pull the trigger enough against his often off balance opponent.

In the 11th what first appeared to be an accidental head butt was actually a punch and Pacquiao opened a nasty cut under Barrera's right eye. Frustrated with his opponent and falling further and further behind on the scorecards, Barrera clocked Pacquiao with a wicked overhand right to the head while the fighters were instructed to break by the referee Tony Weeks. As a result a point was deducted from Barrera but that only proved to be academic when the final verdict was rendered.

Judge Jerry Roth scored the contest 118-109, while Tom Schreck had it 115-112 and Glenn Trowbridge tallied 118-109 all for Pacquiao. With the win the Filipino sensation holds on to the mythical WBC International super featherweight title, created by that organization to insure sanctioning fees for their pockets.

"I thought before the fight that he was going to box me. For me I'm satisfied with that win," Pacquiao explained after the victory. "I was still careful during the fight because he is still a good fighter. I just hope the people are happy and no one got hurt."

Despite the lopsided scoring, the 33-year-old Barrera, who was giving away five years, was still somewhat convinced he should have won the bout.

"I boxed him well and I thought I was dominating with the left hand until I got a headbutt," Barrera explained after the loss. "It was very hard because he had a very strong defense and it was hard to break into that. They took a point away and shouldn't have. I'm sad because I lost at the end but he hit me with very few punches, very few combinations. We thought we had it, we thought we controlled it with the left. I'm happy it is my closing fight."

--Vegas Retirement--

The southpaw Pacquiao (45-3-2, 35 KO's) dominated the first four rounds by simply beating Barrera (63-6, 42 KO's) to the punch with solid combinations and enough stiff left crosses down the middle to wrack up points and keep the older fighter on the business end of his shots.

Barrera (130) finally came to life in the 5th, and at the 2:12 mark he sank a hard left hook into his opponent's ribs and then doubled up with two more sharp hooks to the head. Pacquiao (130) returned fire and bounced a nasty right left combination off of the Mexican's profile. The southpaw continued to let his hands go and with 1:12 remaining in the round, Pacquiao caught Barrera, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico against the ropes and he ripped him with a wicked right cross to the face and the Mexican opened back up with both hands. For one of the few times in the early going both men traded leather, as the fans cheered the sudden fireworks. Barrera landed two clubbing right hands to the jaw but Pacquiao returned to fire shots and with 25-seconds to go in the 5th, he drilled Barrera with a laser-like left cross flush on the forehead. Moments later, bouncing on his toes, Pacquiao connected with another combination to the face before tying up the Mexican legend in the center of the ring.

With 1:52 to go in the 6th, Pacquiao drove Barrera back into the corner after scoring with another hard straight left hand down the middle that forced the Mexican to retreat. The Filipino landed another sharp combination to the skull before backing off reloading and then sinking four more shots into Barrera's midsection. Pacquiao kept the pressure on but with 42-seconds remaining in the round, Barrera jolted the Filipino with a riveting counter right cross to the chin. With the fans howling, Pacquiao opened up and he nailed Barrera with a scalding right hook to the jaw, as both men opened up in one of the better exchanges of the fight. Every time Barrera would land a punch Pacquiao answered every assault with a blazing combination and eventually the older fighter would again slow the tempo of the contest.

--Nevada Tactics--

Barrera returned to trying to control the pace and the action of the bout with his left jab, however, Pacquiao simply had too much hand speed for the older boxer to stop. At the 1:39 mark of the 7th, Pacquiao bounced a rapid-fire three-punch combination off of Barrera's profile. It was the same scenario in the 8th, with the southpaw moving quickly around the ring only to stop and then drill Barrera, who always seemed a half step too slow with yet another sharp combination.

At the 1:20 mark of the 9th, Pacquiao again clocked his opponent with another nasty left cross down the middle that caught Barrera square on the chin and drove the Mexican back into the corner. There was another brief exchange and the Filipino scored with another searing combination to the head and body and Barrera could do little but clinch and wait for the referee Weeks to break the fighters. Pacquiao continued to tattoo Barrera with hard left crosses and with 24-second to go in the round, he rocked the Mexican legend with a clean left crosses that momentarily wobbled his opponent.

Aggressive punching and a willingness to take the battle to his opponent was still the storyline for Pacquiao in the later rounds. Barrera continued to retreat and occasionally stop and fire leather but it was the Filipino who continued to make the fight and with 53-seconds remaining in the 10th, Pacquiao scored with a sharp two-punch combination the thudded off of the Mexican's jaw.

--Bloody Finale--

Barrera suddenly came to life with 1:33 to go in the 11th, as both men opened up and the Mexican scored with a hard chopping right hand to the face. However, within seconds Pacquiao was back on target and bouncing more leather off of Barrera's skull. With under a minute to go in the round, Pacquiao staggered the former three-time world champion with another clean left hand to the jaw that sent Barrera reeling back against the ropes. Pacquiao unloaded a barrage of punches and staggered Barrera, who was compelled to return fire as both men traded shots in the center of the ring.

With 41-seconds to go in the 11th, Pacquiao appeared to have clocked Barrera with an overhand left hand just under the right eye that opened a nasty gash that immediately started bleeding. Frustrated and running out of rounds, Barrera nailed Pacquiao with a clubbing right hand to the head just as the referee Weeks was issuing the command to break. Pacquiao turned his back and staggered to the ropes before placing both of his gloves over the top strand and slumping forward.

Weeks called time and with blood streaming from Barrera's cut, the Nevada official took a point away from the Mexican for hitting on the break. A chorus off boos filled the arena as Pacquiao staggered sideways and had to use the ropes to remain standing. Pacquiao was still shaken and it would take another 90 seconds before the Filipino would regain his equilibrium and be ready to continue. Barrera finished the round with blood cascading down the right side of his face and splashing down his chest.

Pacquiao finished off the last round much as he had done in the opening stanza. Faster hands landed and scored points while Barrera's willingness for combat eroding with each passing second. At the bell the old adversaries both turned around and headed in different directions.

Manny Pacquiao was destined for more big time fights and lucrative paydays, while Marco Antonio Barrera was simply headed toward the sunset.

--Luevano Outpoints Davis--

Earlier in the evening, 26-year-old southpaw WBO featherweight champion Steven Luevano (34-1, 15 KO's) retained his crown by scoring a commanding 12 round unanimous decision over Antonio Davis (24-4, 12 KO's).

Luevano (126) repeatedly got off first and beat the challenger to the punch with stiff right jabs, as the champion continued to tag Davis (126) with harder and harder shots throughout the contest. After eight rounds there was noticeable swelling over and under Davis' left eye and several small nicks in his eyelid that were beginning to bleed.

Luevano, La Puente, California returned to drilling Davis, Atlanta, Georgia with rapier-like right jabs and with 2:01 to go in the 9th, the referee Toby Gibson called time out with blood dripping from the challenger's left eye and had the ringside physician examine the wound. The action resumed and Luevano, 5'7", returned to nailing the slower moving Davis with a variety of hard shots to the skull.

The 35-year-old Davis attempted to will himself back into the fight and late in the 11th, the challenger pinned Luevano on the ropes and both men traded wicked body shots that blistered both fighter's ribs. Just before the bell to end the round, Luevano finally nailed the hard pressing challenger with a clean right hand counter to the chin. Exhausted and trailing badly on points, Davis sank to the canvas and down on one knee while holding on to the ropes to keep from falling completely over and on the deck. Davis valiantly but slowly used the ropes to haul himself up at the count of four and then make it back to his own corner.

Luevano won the fight going away on all three judges' scorecards in his first title defense after first winning the vacant WBO crown last July by scoring an 11th round KO over the Englishman Nicky Cook. Judge Burt Clements scored the contest 119-108, as did judge Levi Martinez and C. J. Ross tallied 118-109, all for the talented southpaw from Southern California.

Undercard: Earlier in the evening, in a highly entertaining super middleweight battle Librado Andrade (26-1, 20 KOs) was forced to climb off the deck following a first round knockdown and rally to score a brutal 7th round TKO over outgunned Yusaf Mack (23-2-2, 14 KO's). In the 1st, of a scheduled 12 rounder, Mack (168) caught Andrade, La Habra, California via Guanajuato, GT, Mexico with a stunning left hook to the chin and dropped the former swing shift manager at a Southern California Jack-In-The-Box and deposited him on the deck. The 6'2" Andrade beat the count and over the next several rounds continued to pressure his opponent and score with clubbing right hands to the head and thudding hooks to the midsection. In the 7th the fight was close with both men scoring, however, with 1:09 to go in the round, Mack, Philadelphia, PA., took a knee after Andrade drove him into the ropes following a three-shot combination to the face. Seconds later, Andrade opened up with another volley of shots and dropped his opponent for the second time from almost sheer exhaustion. Mack, 6'1", climbed off the floor at the count of three but he still appeared wobbly when the action resumed. Fighting in the center of the ring, Andrade unloaded with both hands and a right hand to the body followed by a right uppercut under the chin dropped Mack to his knees for the final time. Referee Jay Nady waved off the contest at 25-seconds of the 7th round and awarded the victory to Andrade. In yet another hard fought and very close battle, former 140-pound world champion Steve (2-Pounds) Forbes (33-5, 9 KO's) landed enough hard shots down the stretch to score a very narrow 10 round split decision against former Mexican Olympian Francisco "Panchito" Bojado (18-3, 12 KO's). Bojado (145) showed power in the early going but he was simply outworked in the later rounds by the older fighter, as Forbes (142) repeatedly landed and was able to back up the heavier hitter who now lives and fights out of Los Angeles, California. Forbes, Las Vegas, Nevada captured the win on two out of three cards. Chuck Giampa scored the contest 96-94 for Bojado, but Dune Ford had it 96-94 and Herb Santos tallied 97-93, both for the victor Forbes.