After a slow start, Pacquiao dominated most rounds and eventually prevailed – all three judges scoring it 116-110 in his favour. Cheers for Pacquiao were heard throughout the crowd while waiting who will land the first legit hit. We talked about it being his last pro fight and I said ‘Go out with a bang, let’s look good doing it.’ And he did that.
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It was a non-title fight, but nobody cared.
For now, he reiterated to boos from fans in the arena, “I’m going to retire after this”. He is now running for a seat in the country’s senate, capitalizing on his popularity throughout the Philippines.
“This fight is not about politics”.
Following the loss, Bradley said he’s going to take a break for a while before reflecting on his future.
Few minutes after the fight was over, the global gospel musician Don Moen, took to his Facebook page to congratulate Manny Pacquiao.
“Yes, I am retired”.
“I thought at moments tonight he looked better than he has done in a really long time”. “But I love my family, I honor my family, my kids … right now, my decision is to retire”. He was a little rusty. I don’t know what the feeling [of retirement] is. He kept Bradley guessing and out of focus, not knowing whether to stick to their game plan or go toe-to-toe. As he walked back to his corner, he nearly cursed himself for losing his patience. He proved many critics wrong with his strong showing against the much improved Teddy Atlas trained version of Timothy Bradley, who had made many subtle adjustments to his game, correcting some of the minor flaws he has previously displayed, mainly pertaining to balance and positioning.
As Bradley was shown a replay of the second knockdown during a post-fight interview in the ring, he said: “Ooh-wee!” Pacquiao has gone 4-1 since then. But Pacquiao seemed to have pulled his opponent down.
A further left hook sent Bradley down for the second time leaving Pacquiao with a commanding lead heading into the final three rounds.
Afterward, he confirmed the central selling point of the promotion that it was his last fight. “Congratulations Manny Pacquiao”, Bradley said. “Manny’s left (hand) trumps all”. He’s said nothing about feeling like they got the shaft from the judges.
“You must give Pacquiao the credit”. Yeah, he caught me good on that one. Even promoter Bob Arum believes that his retirement is just temporary.
When asked if he might best serve his homeland by continuing to fight, he replied that he had promised his family he would retire.
Arum said he has no worries at all.
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ESPN boxing writer Dan Rafael tweeted that Pacquiao said his “heart is 50-50 (about fighting again)”.
