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For anyone who thought Manny Pacquiao's career was over, following his stunning knockout by Juan Manuel Marquez last December, the boxing superstar proved otherwise Saturday night (Nov. 23) in Macau, China, when he completely dominated the younger Brandon Rios on his way to victory.
The 34-year-old boxer earned a unanimous decision over Rios, delivering a flawless display of boxing skill.
"First, that's what I thought. My time is not over yet," Manny said in his post-fight interview with Max Kellerman, who asked if his performance proves that he's back. "Rios is not an easy opponent. He's a good fighter, strong fighter. This is toughest fight of my career.
"He took a lot of solid punches, and still stand up," he continued. "Let's give credit to Alex Ariza, his fighter is tough. He's a tough fighter... I tried to finish the fight, but my opponent was very tough."
While things started off slowly, as each fighter sized each other up, by the end of the first round Manny had taken control.
Rios tried to deliver some combos in the early rounds, landing mostly body shots, but by the later rounds, it was as he were a punching bag. Manny's footwork and hand speed proved to much for the Mexican fighter. Pac-Man danced around the ring throughout the evening, delivering combo after combo, and would move out-of-the-way before Rios could even throw a punch. In fact, Rios was unable to land punches for the most part.
There was no knockouts, but the damage to Rios' face showed how outclassed he was. In the 7th round, a gash opened up about his left eye, and trickled blood through the remaining round, and at the end of the right, both eyes were swollen for the amount of punches he endured.
"It is what it is. It's part of boxing," Rios said after the fight. "Power-wise, I didn't feel it. But speed bothered me a little bit. Manny Pacquio's very fast. I fought one of the greatest boxers in the world. The speed got me a little bit."
After the fight, Manny admitted that he backed off in the final round, knowing that he was ahead on the scorecards, which commentator Kellerman noted as evidence that Pac-Man isn't exactly the same fighter of the past, who would've attempted to finish his opponent until the very end.
Nevertheless, Manny is back. The Filipino boxer declined to name a fighter he'd like to take on next.
The 34-year-old boxer earned a unanimous decision over Rios, delivering a flawless display of boxing skill.
"First, that's what I thought. My time is not over yet," Manny said in his post-fight interview with Max Kellerman, who asked if his performance proves that he's back. "Rios is not an easy opponent. He's a good fighter, strong fighter. This is toughest fight of my career.
"He took a lot of solid punches, and still stand up," he continued. "Let's give credit to Alex Ariza, his fighter is tough. He's a tough fighter... I tried to finish the fight, but my opponent was very tough."
While things started off slowly, as each fighter sized each other up, by the end of the first round Manny had taken control.
Rios tried to deliver some combos in the early rounds, landing mostly body shots, but by the later rounds, it was as he were a punching bag. Manny's footwork and hand speed proved to much for the Mexican fighter. Pac-Man danced around the ring throughout the evening, delivering combo after combo, and would move out-of-the-way before Rios could even throw a punch. In fact, Rios was unable to land punches for the most part.
There was no knockouts, but the damage to Rios' face showed how outclassed he was. In the 7th round, a gash opened up about his left eye, and trickled blood through the remaining round, and at the end of the right, both eyes were swollen for the amount of punches he endured.
"It is what it is. It's part of boxing," Rios said after the fight. "Power-wise, I didn't feel it. But speed bothered me a little bit. Manny Pacquio's very fast. I fought one of the greatest boxers in the world. The speed got me a little bit."
After the fight, Manny admitted that he backed off in the final round, knowing that he was ahead on the scorecards, which commentator Kellerman noted as evidence that Pac-Man isn't exactly the same fighter of the past, who would've attempted to finish his opponent until the very end.
Nevertheless, Manny is back. The Filipino boxer declined to name a fighter he'd like to take on next.
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