What seemed to be a dull match turned into one of the best fights in Desert Storm and Pacman’s career. Timothy Bradley made a good start scoring a lead in his punches making Manny Pacquiao hard to counter attack. But Pacquiao got back on his shoes and made the score even, lightly fighting back without making much impact.
Bradley, on the other side, tried to land big shots that caught the Phillipino, and this worried the crowd. The scores were even until the 4th round where Pacquiao landed some decent rights to the head followed by a series of jabs that didn’t make much effect.
Bradley tried to land some hard shots in the next couple of rounds but Pacquiao was able to wipe it off his face and returned with his own combination of punches that were sufficient to win the round.
Bradley seemed to be the one showcasing more aggression but his punches weren’t making so much damage as Pacquiao's. Bradley returned the favor in the 7th round by landing quick jabs that tagged his opponent, but Pacquiao tried to follow his foe with one punch at a time.
The atmosphere in the arena went haywire when Pacquiao dropped Bradley with a clean shot to the side of his face -- Manny’s first knockdown in two years. The 8th round ended in Pacquiao’s favor despite Bradley’s tireless efforts.
The 9th round began and Bradley was up to his feet. Bradley realized that he needed to get the score even and immediately got back to work, shooting some clean jabs that made Pacquiao throw one punch at a time.
Bradley realizing the urgency, tried to be explosive but was shocked when he gets rocked by Pacquiao with a short left hook, sending him toppling backwards on the canvas. Pacquiao scored a second knockdown in the process.
The end didn’t seem to be far as Pacquiao seals the next two rounds. But Bradley still tried to scramble to a victory by throwing some jabs that secured him the 11th round, but the damage had already been done. Pacquiao was in the lead, and in the 12th round, was nearing the end of a legendary career with a spectacular victory.
Bradley tried to fight back dearly, clinching on his hope to score a knockout, but the Phillipino legend was just too fast.
The match ends with the showcase of some great sportsmanship by both the warriors. Pacquiao was crowned the new WBO International Welterweight Champion as he put on his gloves for the final time.
Humble and gracious in defeat Bradley showed courage and promised to come back even stronger.
