LAS VEGAS — Manny Pacquiao vowed to show that in his first fight since turning 40 last month that he was still a force to be reckoned with in boxing. He is.
While he might not be the overwhelming force he was in his electrifying prime, boxing’s only eight-division world champion showed that he is still pretty darn good as he easily rolled past Adrien Broner by unanimous decision to retain his secondary welterweight world title for the first time on Saturday night.
The 13,025 inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena, where Pacquiao made his American debut 18 years ago, cheered his every move as he delivered a vintage performance in which he showed he is still fast, still skilled and still has some pop in his fists as he rocked Broner several times.
In the end it was a wipeout though the judges did give Broner some love in scoring the fight 117-111, 116-112 and 116-112. ESPN.com had it a shutout for Pacquiao, 120-108.
Pacquiao won the belt by dominant seventh-round knockout of Lucas Matthysse in July in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, his first KO win in nine years. That victory set the stage for his return to the United States for the first time in 26 months to face Broner in what might have served as a warm-up for a rematch with Floyd Mayweather.
Mayweather has considered exiting retirement for a sequel of his 2015 decision win over Pacquiao in a welterweight title unification fight that crowned the king of the era and became the biggest grossing fight in combat sports history at more than $600 million.
Mayweather, whose Mayweather Promotions was one of the promoters of the card, was ringside and no doubt took a hard look at Pacquiao as he considers the possibility of a rematch that he and Pacquiao spoke about in Japan during a chance meeting in September.
What Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs), who turns 42 next month, saw was Pacquiao show his still considerable hand and foot speed from the opening bell. He darted in and out on Broner and landed multiple crisp shots while Broner could barely land anything.