Despite lacking a fight-finishing arsenal, Manny Pacquiao again proved his skills can dominate a bout.Blessed with superior hand and foot speed, Pacquiao never allowed Marco Antonio Barrera to mount a fight-altering attack and won a lopsided unanimous decision in their 12-round super-featherweight bout late Saturday in Las Vegas.
''I tried to give a good show tonight,'' Pacquiao said. ``I hope people liked it.''
Pacquiao (45-3-2) repeatedly frustrated Barrera throughout the bout with quick combinations to the head. Even when Barrera (63-6) landed a solid right to the head, Pacquiao often countered with a left.
Keeping Barrera on the defensive allowed Pacquiao to build a substantial advantage through the early and middle rounds. Barrera landed rights to Pacquiao's head, but the shots never had Pacquiao in trouble.
Pacquiao's dominance was confirmed by the scorecards from judges Jerry Roth and Glenn Trowbridge, each of whom had Pacquiao winning 118-109. Judge Tom Schrek had it 115-112 for Pacquiao.
''I was still careful in the fight because he is still a good fighter,'' said Pacquiao, who stopped Barrera in 11 rounds four years ago. ``He is not an easy opponent.''
Barrera, who spent nearly two years campaigning for Saturday's rematch, said he will retire.
''I trained hard for this fight and proved wrong the so-called experts who predicted he would finish me in three or four rounds,'' said Barrera, 33. ``I am happy because it's my last fight.''
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