By Ivan Stewart Saldajeno/PNA
MANILA — Forty-year-old Manny Pacquiao stepped into a boxing ring in Las Vegas for the first time in nearly three years.
In his return, however, he showcased a vintage performance.
Pacquiao successfully retained his World Boxing Association welterweight championship with a brilliant victory against Adrien Broner at the MGM Grand Arena on Sunday (Philippine Time).
Playing in his 70th professional bout, Pacquiao showed that he can still compete with a brilliant stint as if he turned back Father Time.
Pacquiao stepped on the gas in the opening moments of the 12-round affair, already frustrating Broner with his quickness and aggression.
Although Broner had some bright moments in the fourth round, Pacquiao became more solid in Rounds 7 and 9, nearly knocking his 29-year-old opponent down with his flurries.
In the end, Dave Moretti gave a 117-111 score for Pacquiao, while Jim Cheatham and Glenn Feldman each had it 116-112 also for Pacquiao, who scored his 61st win against two draws and seven defeats.
Broner suffered only his fourth loss in his career against 33 wins and one draw with one no contest.
Pacquiao’s win made up for the losses of Ray Perez and Jay-Ar Inson in the undercard.
Perez fell to George Kambosos, a former sparring partner of Pacquiao during training camp, via unanimous decision with the three judges giving the Australian perfect 80’s in the eight-round bout.
Inson, on the other hand, survived two Round 1 knockdowns against Jonathan Steele only to lose via split decision in their own eight-round clash.
Inson got a 77-74 card from one judge, but the other two jurors had it 78-73 and 77-74 respectively for Steele.
