Updated: Jan 22, 2019 1:20 am
This past weekend, WBA welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao scored a unanimous decision victory over Adrien Broner at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.The bout was the 40-year-old Pacquiao’s seventieth professional fight.
Pacquiao vs. Broner – Fight Recap
From the first bell it was clear that the fight was going to be a tactical chess match, with the first few rounds being fairly close and competitive. Pacquiao was the aggressor and was both throwing and landing more, while Broner had some success countering, especially with his left hook. By the middle rounds, “Pac-Man” began to pull ahead, landing his left hand to the body often. Late in the seventh, “The Problem” was badly hurt by a hard Pacquiao left hand and retreated to the ropes, where he was pummeled and forced to hold. Broner would survive the round and the rest of the fight, having little success to finish it out.
I scored the bout 117-111 for Manny Pacquiao. Broner looked good early, but was unable to hurt Pacquiao and ultimately he was outworked and outgunned. Official scores were 117-111, 116-112, and 116-112 all for the Filipino senator.
Pacquiao (61-7-2) showed that he is still one of the best in the world in one of boxing’s most competitive weight classes. After the fight, the WBA champion stated that he would like a rematch with Floyd Mayweather (50-0) if possible. The pair previously met in the ring in 2015, with Mayweather winning via unanimous decision.
After the fight, it was reported that Pacquiao suffered an injury to his left eye which caused notable vision loss. If Pacquiao ends up being diagnosed with a detached retina, he would most certainly be forced to retire from boxing for good.
In the co-main event, Marcus Browne (USA) outpointed former two-division champion Badou Jack (SWE) over twelve grueling rounds to win the interim WBA and WBC Silver light heavyweight titles. Also on the card, Nordine Oubaali (FRA) won the vacant WBC bantamweight title with a unanimous decision win over former champion Rau’shee Warren (USA).
Other Notable Fight Results
- Pablo Cesar Cano TKO1 Jorge Linares
- Demetrius Andrade TKO12 Artur Akavov
- TJ Doheny TKO11 Ryohei Takahashi
- Oscar Rivas TKO12 Bryant Jennings
- George Kambosos Jr. UD8 Rey Perez
- Shakur Stevenson TKO4 Jessie Cris Rosales
As most predicted, Manny Pacquiao’s offense would be too much for Adrien Broner’s defense. After knocking out Lucas Matthysse in his last fight, this was a strong performance for Pacquiao against a solid opponent in his PBC debut.
If Floyd Mayweather remains retired, there are certainly other options for Pacquiao. WBC welterweight champion Shawn Porter, WBA Super champion Keith Thurman, and the winner of Errol Spence vs. Mikey Garcia (for Spence’s IBF strap) are all possible opponents for the future Hall of Famer’s next fight.
What did you think of Pacquiao’s performance? Will Mayweather come out of retirement for one more fight? If healthy, should Manny take on one of the young champions? Comment below.
