Nov. 24, 2013. Manny Pacquiao got his arm raised for the first time in two years tonight, defeating Brandon Rios by unanimous decision over 12 rounds in Macao.
It took all of twelve rounds but Pacquiao won with his speed giving Rios fits from the first round until the end of the fight. Manny landed at will with his left hand early, and mixed it up with more body shots than usual, it seemed, landing thudding blows to the body that mixed in with sharp punches down the pipe upstairs.
When asked if he ever felt Rios’ power, Pacquiao admitted that he was hurt in the bout. “He hit me with a good, solid punch, and I tell you, it’s hard. It’s hard. I was hurt. I think it was the fifth round.”
“It’s part of boxing. Manny did a great job. He’s very fast. Power-wise, eh, he didn’t bother me that much. But quickness, that was it,” Rios said.
“I fought one of the greatest boxers in the world besides Mayweather. The speed just got to me. I had fast sparring partners, but I think he was faster than them,” Rios added.
For Rios, this isn’t a huge setback because he was a major underdog and he’s still incredibly resilient and generally entertaining. The promotional issues exist for him, too, unfortunately. Pacquiao teammate Ruslan Provodnikov should make for an explosive battle, but Provodnikov might be unwilling to step back and fight someone who has lost two straight.
Rios relentlessly tried to put Pacquiao’s back on the ropes or in the corner, but was almost entirely unsuccessful. Pacquiao was able to defend himself long enough to cut angles and bring the fight back to the center of the ring. Rios was never knocked down, but was tagged with huge, damaging punches over and over.
Almost immediately, after the people’s champion returned to the Philippines, Pacquiao went to Leyte distributing cash and relief goods to the typhoon survivors. As of press time, he is being haunted by Kim Henares of the Bureau of Internal Revenue for unpaid taxes amounting to some P2,4 billion. The champion boxer said that he has paid sufficient taxes in the United States.