The Filipino southpaw rolled back the years to win the final bout of his career with an eye-catching performance in Las Vegas.
Manny Pacquiao finished his hall of fame career with a typically thrilling victory against Timothy Bradley at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The Filipino icon, who has promised to retire from the sport after the bout, delivered his best performance in recent years to knock Bradley down on two occasions to claim victory 116-110 on all three cards .
The 37-year-old southpaw produced a disappointing showing in his last fight against Floyd Mayweather in the same venue in May last year, but recovered from a slow start to deliver a vintage display this time around, peppering his underrated opponent with power shots and confusing him with odd punching angles.
In the cagey opening rounds, Bradley took an early lead on the scorecards, showing good boxing skills to counterpunch his rival from the outside.
The American rigidly stuck to his gameplan in the opening stages and opened a narrow lead in the minds of the judges.
However, the fight turned in round seven, when an increasingly confident Pacquiao landed a short punch inside and Bradley touched the canvas.
The Pacman repeated the trick two rounds later, although there was more venom in his punch on this occasion and the knockdowns gave Bradley a mountain to climb in order to win the fight.
As the 32-year-old right-hander went in search of a knockout to win the contest, Pacquiao used his footwork and athleticism to stay out of trouble, occasionally dipping into range to land his own power shots.
When the final bell rang, it was apparent to both men - as well as the partisan crowd at the MGM - that Pacquiao had won the fight.
And assuming he doesn't reconsider his decision to retire, Pacquiao's win against Bradley was a fitting way to leave the stage.
Loading...
