The spotlight shined bright upon Manny Pacquiao this past weekend, as he returned to the ring against Brandon Rios in an effort to find out if he still has some of the same magic in him that saw him stamp himself as one of this generation?s elite prizefighters.
Inside of the Venetian Resort?s Coati Arena in Macau, China, Pacquiao offered up an impressive display by hammering Rios with a bevy of punches from various angles as he carved out a wide unanimous decision victory.
Watching the action unfold from ringside, longtime HBO analyst Larry Merchant had a strong curiosity as to how Pacquiao would show himself following his knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez this past December.
?I thought there were some questions to be asked and answers to be questioned,? Merchant stated. ?The question was ?how would Manny come back from the knockout at his age against a good, strong, young opponent who was matched with him because it?s a good matchup?? Would the matchup give Manny a chance to bounce back or would the matchup bounce him out of the game??
Pacquiao wasn?t exactly on a seek and destroy mission against Rios, as he seemed perfectly content with boxing his way towards a victory. Merchant feels the change in style from the Filipino star is a sign of him still evolving as a fighter.
?It showed that he still wants to fight because he got in great shape and he and Freddie are reinventing him again, in the sense,? Merchant stated. ?When Manny first came he was basically just all pressure and punching. And then over time under Freddie, he became a really good, what I would categorize as a boxer-puncher. And now they are transitioning into being a boxer-puncher.
?And I thought he was very impressive in that sense of it, that he showed that he still wants to get after it and that he can learn to fight within himself rather than always on the edge,? Merchant added. ?And of course that?s what made him what he was. But he showed that he still has enough spring in him to keep going for a while.?
Pacquiao is slated to fight again in April and there is a strong possibility that he could be facing Tim Bradley in a rematch of their June 2012 encounter.
Bradley would edge Pacquiao via a controversial split-decision that night, and Merchant feels that a second encounter between the two looks be dead even on paper.
?Bradley found out in their first fight that he couldn?t stand and trade with Manny,? said Merchant. ?And that when he boxed him he did better. And we saw him outbox [Juan Manuel] Marquez. So I think, going in, that?s an even fight.?
