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Manny Pacquiao unanimously defeats American Timothy Bradley, 116-110
The boxer had announced that the third fight between the two would be his last
Boxing great Manny Pacquiao emphatically beat Timothy Bradley Jr. in Las Vegas on Saturday, vowing to hang up his gloves after besting the American for the second time in three meetings.
Following the bout, Manny repeated the fight was his last, saying he made a promise to his family that he would spend more time with them, according to Bleacher Report.
His win underlined his superiority over Bradley following their bout two years ago, when he avenged his shock loss to the American during their first meeting in 2012.
On Saturday, despite showing a comfortable superiority, the welterweight championship fight went the distance. All four judges unanimously scored the Filipino, known affectionately as “Pac-man,” the winner, 116-110.
After an underwhelming megafight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. – which he lost – last year, the Filipino boxer said he had decided to hang up his gloves and focus on his political career.
A tweet by his promoter, Top Rank, reaffirmed his decision to retire.
“Pacquiao says he made a commitment to retire to good family,” the message reads.
Success out of the ring
He reflected on a long and storied career during which he was regarded as the best pound-for-pound boxer of his generation.
“When I started boxing, I never (thought) that I can accomplish all that I’ve accomplished,” he said.
The eight-division world champion has also made an impact out of the ring, successfully running for his country’s congress in 2010. He is currently running for a seat in the country’s senate, capitalizing on his popularity throughout the Philippines.
Comeback kid?
He did, however, leave a window open for a return, saying he’s retired now but he’s not at the point of knowing whether he’ll want to come back.
ESPN boxing writer Dan Rafael tweeted that Pacquiao said his “heart is 50-50 (about fighting again).”
Before the fight, Pacquiao announced that Bradley would be his final opponent of his career, saying he selected him after seeing his improvements as a fighter since their last foray.
“I chose Bradley because I believe Bradley, he is different than before we had the last fight. He improved a lot and we know that, and we saw that in his last fight with Rios,” explained Pacquiao.
In February, Pacquiao apologized for sparking outrage in the Philippines after saying gay people are “worse than animals.”