BRONER starts out fast, popping the jab in Manny’s face. The latter responds with flurries every time he traps Broner along the ropes. A fresh Broner is able to partially fend off the combinations with his shoulder-roll defense and wins a few of the early rounds on two of the judges’ cards. The pattern repeats itself into the middle rounds, but then Broner’s activity starts to wane.
Manny senses this and ups the tempo. He flummoxes Broner with blistering combinations and employs lateral movement to counter Broner’s defensive tactics.
By the ninth round, Broner’s nose is starting to bleed and his face looks puffy from the staccato-like pummeling he has received from the surprisingly springy 40-year-old Pacman.
The merciful ends comes in the 11th round when a non-responsive Broner is trapped in a corner unable to defend himself from Pacquiao’s combinations. Typically, it is Manny himself who motions to the referee to come take a look and the latter thereafter calls for the denouement of the fight.
SECOND. The first few rounds are the quintessential feeling out phase with both fighters sizing each other up. Manny starts to find his mark by the third round, landing single left-handed shots that catch Broner flush.
Broner remarkably shows composure and by the middle rounds, starts landing right hands of his own. Manny responds with combinations, but they are somehow not as sharp and precise as before.
Both fighters seem to take a break in rounds 8 and 9, and in the 10th, Broner changes tactics. He clinches and tries to mug Manny along the ropes, landing kidney blows and rabbit punches, despite the ref’s warnings. The dirty tactics continue into the championship rounds, and at one point, Broner lands a low blow which the referee fails to catch.
A headbutt in the 10th, which appears unintentional, cuts Manny badly along the left eyebrow. He soldiers on in the 11th, but Broner starts sharpshooting and reopens the cut badly.
Broner wins the last two rounds on the scorecards against the visibly weakened Manny, and this is enough to earn him the nod as “The Problem” upsets Manny via split decision in a widely booed verdict.
THIRD. Manny starts out fast, landing combinations, seemingly resurgent to be fighting again in US soil. But Broner, it seems, has come prepared. He takes a page out of his idol Floyd’s playbook and defends well. He lands flush with some left hooks and right-hand counters.
It’s evenly fought up until the eighth round when Manny takes over and begins to dominate as Broner starts to fade.
The older Manny seems to be in better condition and has not lost a step. In contrast, a tiring Broner has abandoned any lateral movement and is standing still, becoming an inviting target for Manny’s flurries.
Broner, however, survives to hear the final bell, but there is no doubt at the conclusion of the fight that Manny is the clear victor via unanimous decision.
LAST ROUND. It’s on my kumpare, Atty. Bambi.