Manny Pacquiao is 40 years old, undoubtedly past his prime, but tonight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, live on Showtime pay-per-view, he proved unquestionably still too good for Adrien Broner, winning a clear decision to retain his WBA “world” welterweight title.
Pacquiao (61-7-2, 39 KO) won the fight on scores of 116-112, 116-112, and 117-111, and those may have frankly been a bit generous for Broner (33-4-1, 24 KO). BLH had the fight 118-110 and 119-109 for Pacquiao.
The problems Broner ran into in this fight were simple and predictable, as they’re the same problems Broner has run into every time he’s fought someone at the top level of the sport. He didn’t throw enough punches, allowing Pacquiao to outwork him handily, and his leaky defense was not at all the Mayweather-esque slickness of his delusions, as he was hit plenty.