LAS VEGAS – Manny Pacquiao proclaimed at the outset of the promotion for his third bout with Timothy Bradley that it would be the final fight of his fine career. By the time the fight arrived, he indicated he wasn?t so sure. What he didn?t want to do was retire, then come back, like so many fighters have done.
Chances are, to retire or not retire would depend on how he looked Saturday against Bradley, who was desperate for a true victory over Pacquiao after being gifted one by the judges in their first fight in June 2012.
After this performance perhaps Pacquiao should stay around a bit longer because he looked good in pounding out a unanimous decision over Bradley in the welterweight main event before 14,665 at MGM Grand. Pacquiao won by three scores of 116-110. This newspaper had Pacquiao winning by the same score.
Pacquiao (58-6-2, 38 KOs) decked Palm Springs? Bradley (33-2-1, 13 KOs) twice, though the first one was questionable.
The first three rounds were boring and things picked up a bit in the fourth. In the fifth, the fighters went at each other. Both landed shots to the head, but Pacquiao seemed to get in a few more, including the second of two consecutive left crosses.
Pacquiao was given credit for a knockdown near the end of the seventh. He did land a short right hook, but Pacquiao also gave Bradley a slight push after that and that appeared as much responsible for Bradley tasting the canvas.
Bradley then hurt Pacquiao with a left hook in the eighth round, but Pacquiao stayed upright.
Bradley didn?t stay on his feet in the ninth, though, when Pacquiao dropped him with a short left, Bradley doing a reverse somersault after hitting the deck.
?I was looking for a knockout, but Bradley is a good fighter,? Pacquiao said immediately afterward.
Bradley said the first knockdown was not legitimate, but after watching the replay of the second one afterward in the ring, he said, ?Yeah, he caught me good with that one.?
This was a rubber match. Not quite two years after their first fight – in April 2014 – Pacquiao won a unanimous decision over Bradley.
Gilberto Ramirez was looking to make history by becoming the first fighter from Mexico to win a super middleweight world title. He accomplished his goal in impressive fashion by taking the title from Arthur Abraham via a shutout on the scorecards – Ramirez won by three scores of 120-108.
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Ramirez, a 6-foot-2 1/2 southpaw, is now 34-0. He hurt Abraham badly in the third round with a kind of a weird-looking right hook. Abraham did well to stay on his feet.
?Abraham was strong, very heavy-handed, but I took him to Mexican boxing school,? Ramirez said. ?He couldn?t handle any movement. Halfway through the fight, I knew I was going to win. I came into this fight to make a statement and we did – we are the first Mexican champion in this weight division.?
Abraham, of Germany, is 44-5.
Oscar Valdez, a hot featherweight prospect from Mexico, showed everyone what he was all about when he stopped Evgeny Gradovich of Russia in the fourth round.
Gradovich went down, then got to a knee. He rose, but referee Russell Mora looked into his eyes and stopped the bout at 2:14 of the round.
The fight was slated for 10 rounds, but Gradovich?s face was already messed up at the time of the technical knockout.
Valdez (20-0, 18 KOs) was up 30-27 on all three scorecards.
Gradovich is 21-2-1. His trainer, Robert Garcia, praised Valdez.
?It was a great performance from Oscar Valdez,? Garcia said. ?He will be a future world champion. We knew it was a tough fight.?
Manny Perez showed tremendous courage during his super lightweight fight against Jose Ramirez. All he had to show for his 10 rounds of work was a battered face and a unanimous-decision loss. Ramirez won by scores of 97-93, 98-92 and 99-91.
Ramirez, 23, of Avenal, Calif., is 17-0. He is a 2012 U.S. Olympian. Perez, of Denver, is 25-12-1.
?Biggest win of my career,? Ramirez said. ?Perez is very short, he fought very low. I had to use my jab and right hand to get to him.?
Ramirez is 5-foot-10, Perez is 5-7.
Local favorite Devin Haney of Las Vegas had quite a group of fans cheering him on as he pounded out a four-round unanimous decision over Rafael Vazquez of
Puerto Rico on the super featherweight division. Haney, who rocked Vazquez with a right hand in the final round, won by three scores of 40-36.
Haney, just 17, is 4-0.
