Tonight at 9:00 pm EDT on HBO pay-per-view, Manny Pacquiao returns to the ring for what is being advertised as the final time, as the 37-year-old Filipino legend comes back to face Timothy Bradley for the third time in a 12-round welterweight main event.
Pacquiao (56-7-1, 38 KO) hasn't fought in 11 months and is coming off of not just a loss, but a shoulder surgery, as well. Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KO) is looking to get what he calls a "decisive" victory over Pacquiao, after scoring a highly controversial win in 2012, followed by Pacquiao winning their 2014 rematch.
There will be three fights on the PPV undercard, opening with Jose Ramirez (16-0, 12 KO) facing Manny Perez (25-11-1, 6 KO) in a 10-round junior welterweight bout, followed by Oscar Valdez (18-0, 16 KO) taking on Evgeny Gradovich (21-1-1, 9 KO) in a 10-round featherweight fight. The main undercard attraction will be a WBO super middleweight title fight between Arthur Abraham (44-4, 29 KO) and Gilberto Ramirez (33-0, 24 KO).
Wil Esco will be here for live round by round updates. Join us for the fights!
*****
RESULTS
MANNY PACQUIAO def. TIMOTHY BRADLEY JR by unanimous decision (116-110, 116-110, 116-110)
GILBERTO RAMIREZ def. ARTHUR ABRAHAM by unanimous decision (120-108, 120-108, 120-108)
OSCAR VALDEZ def. EVGENY GRADOVICH by TKO (2:14 of round 4)
JOSE RAMIREZ def. MANNY PEREZ by unanimous decision (97-93, 98-92, 99-91)
*****
ROUND BY ROUND
MANNY PACQUIAO vs TIMOTHY BRADLEY JR.
Round 1: Bradley comes out pawing the jab, trying to find the range. Pacquiao pressing forward, looking really calm. Jab lands for Bradley. Right hook lands for Pacquiao as Bradley brushes the ropes. Bradley working the jab up and down, not necessarily landing clean. Not much contact in this round, but Bradley looked more in control. Bradley 10-9.
Round 2: Bradley throws a two punch combination, doesn't land clean but made contact. Pacquiao tries to time the left, doesn't get it just yet. Pacquiao stalking Bradley, Bradley comes back with a two punch combination. Bradley throwing the jab, just establishing the range back on the outside. Pacquiao lands a left. Close round, Pacquiao edges it. Pacquiao 10-9, 19-19.
Round 3: Bradley backs Pacquiao back with the jab. Pacquiao coming back, getting aggressive with his left hand. Hard right hand lands for Bradley. Both throw jabs, Pacquiao lands a right hook. The round ends slow, crowd get anxious. I'm going Bradley for the best punch of the round. Bradley 10-9.
Round 4: Bradley comes out attacking Pacquiao, lands a left, Bradley blocks the next two punches. Pacquiao dancing in and out now, landing his left nicely. Pacquiao lands another left, getting in his rhythm more. The crowd is getting excited. Action slows, Bradley staying away. Suddenly Bradley lands a right, round ends. Pacquiao 10-9, 38-38.
Round 5: Bradley bulldozes Pacquiao to the ropes. Now Bradley is ambusing Pacquiao with moments of Strong aggression. Pacquiao lands a right hook. Bradley mauls Pacquiao against the ropes. Pacquiao lands a left. Now both men are trading shots! Uppercut lands for Bradley. Left hook lands for Bradley. Pacquiao lands a flurry! Tough round to score. Bradley 10-9.
Round 6: Pacquiao trying to track down Bradley aggressively. Bradley lands a right hand. Pacquiao attacks back with a combination. Right hook lands for Pacquiao. Pacquiao wins the round on aggression and combination punching. Pacquiao 10-9, 57-57.
Round 7: Pacquiao lands a left, and then another. Bradley lands a little right. Right hook blocked by Bradley. Both men trading big shots and missing. Pacquiao continues to chase down Bradley. Pacquiao knocks down Bradley with a right hook! The bell rings. Pacquiao 10-8.
Round 8: Pacquiao dances around Bradley's attack, throws a combination, landing a couple. Bradley taps Pacquiao's gloves with a jab, Pacquiao counters. Two hard shots land for Bradley, who then goes on a full fledged assault!! Bradley wins the round based on his barrage, he earned it. Bradley 10-9, 75-76.
Round 9: Bradley comes out strong, going right after Pacquiao. Pacquiao times a left hand counter. Pacquiao backing up Bradley, hits him with two hard lefts. DOWN GOES BRADLEY! Pacquiao presses forward, Bradley appears to have composed himself. Pacquiao flurries. Pacquiao 10-8.
Round 10: This round starts off slow. Pacquiao lands a body shot. Bradley attacks, doesn't land clean. Bradley going back to the jab. Pacquiao presses forward, landing a couple punches along the way. Bradley ducks a punch, trying to get things back to gether. Pacquiao lands a left, and the another. Pacquiao 10-9, 96-92.
Round 11: Bradley looked a little resigned in the corner heading into the round. For as fast as Bradley is, Pacquiao's speed can simply trump his. Slow round, not much action at all. Pacquiao pressing the action for he most part. Bradley boxing responsibly for the rest of the round but it's not enough for me. Pacquiao 10-9.
Round 12: Bradley lands a nice right hand. Pacquiao lands a sneaky left and slides off to the right. Bradley throwing whatever he can in the clinch. Bradley making a strong attack to finish the fight. Pacquiao fights back. I'm giving it to Bradley for what he did for most of the round. Bradley 10-9. BLH scores it 115-111 for Manny Pacquiao.
ARTHUR ABRAHAM vs GILBERTO RAMIREZ
Round 1: Southpaw Ramirez comes out behind the jab, Abraham catching most on his patented tight shell. Abraham stays behind the ear muffs making it hard for Ramirez to land clean, but he's throwing much more. Good right hook to the body lands for Ramirez. Abraham takes the round off. Ramirez 10-9.
Round 2: Abraham comes back out in the peek-a-boo, trying to let Ramirez blow off some steam. Ramirez occasionally lands a good body shot behind Abraham's tight guard. Ramirez continues to throw, mostly getting blocked, but Abraham not throwing much and just coming forward. Abraham finally throws and lands a hard shot. Ramirez gets it back and hurts Abraham! Round ends. Ramirez 10-9, 20-18.
Round 3: Abraham not coming forward as aggressively to begin the round. Ramirez mixing up his shots to the head and body. Three punch combination lands for Ramirez. Abraham still content to hide behind his guard for the most part. Abraham finally lands two punches, but it's not enough to win him the round. Ramirez 10-9.
Round 4: Ramirez comes out ripping combinations on Abraham. Abraham still covering up tight, trying to surprise Ramirez with the occasional counter punch. Abraham throws a punch but loses his balance and falls towards the ropes. Ramirez remaining calm, just picking shots as Abraham stalks forward. Nice left uppercut to the body lands for Ramirez. The two end up in a tangle at the end of the round. Ramirez 10-9, 40-36.
Round 5: Ramirez comes out to start the round with more combination punching. One minute into the round and Abraham has scarcely thrown a punch. Ramirez continues to circle Abraham and throw punches to the head and body. Uppercut by Ramirez lands low on Abraham, referee stops the action to let Abraham compose himself. Action starts and Ramirez comes right back with another combination. Abraham must be trying to take Ramirez deep into this fight because he's not trying to win round. Ramirez 10-9.
Round 6: Ramirez follows the same pattern, throwing combination punches against Abraham's shell defense. Abraham makes a charging attack, but Ramirez responds with punches of his own. Abraham is finally picking it up, letting his hands go. Both fighters land punches behind the head in a clinch. Better round for Abraham, but the again it couldn't be worse. Ramirez 10-9, 60-54.
Round 7: Abraham lands a couple jabs, trying to pick up his forward momentum. Another left hand lands for Abraham. Ramirez throws a punch and then spins away from Abraham. Abraham goes on the attack again in the final 30 seconds. Abraham finally gets on the board. Abraham 10-9.
Round 8: Ramirez throws a lot of punches to begin the eighth, keeping Abraham on the defensive. Abraham continues to come forward, lands a strong jab now and then. Another left lands for Abraham, fatigue perhaps beginning to show for Ramirez. Ramirez still wins the round. Ramirez 10-9, 79-73.
Round 9: Ramirez moving a lot in this round, trying to stay on the outside. Slow round, now much sustained action. Ramirez lands a good body shot with 30 seconds left in the round. Accidental head clash between the two. Ramirez 10-9.
Round 10: Abraham comes out stalking again, Ramirez just sticks punches against Abraham's guard. Ramirez continues to throw and spin around Abraham, who seldom lets a hand fly away from his face. Abraham explodes with two punches, but both miss. Both men trade punches and land. Ramirez really winning these rounds on sheer activity and looking better doing it. Ramirez 10-9, 99-91.
Round 11: Ramirez comes out digging shots to Abraham's body. Abraham comes forward behind two hard punches. A good left lands for Abraham, then a right. Ramirez then lands his own left in return. Abraham mauls Ramirez a little in a flurry. Abraham 10-9.
Round 12: Ramirez really letting go of his shots in the final round. Abraham still hiding behind his shell too much, knowing he's down on the cards. Ramirez takes his time, throws shots, and continues to slide off to one side or the other when he's finished. Abraham exploding out of his shell with singular shots, but falling short most times. Ramirez 10-9, 118-110.
OSCAR VALDEZ vs EVGENY GRADOVICH
Round 1: Hard counter right lands for Valdez to open the fight. Gradovich comes forward but Valdez is countering his aggression pretty comfortably. Valdez boxing on the outside, landing singular punches as Gradovich comes forward and circling around - doing so very effectively. Good round for Valdez. Valdez 10-9.
Round 2: Gradovich comes into the second round with a cut over his eye. This round Valdez standing his ground a bit more, landing vicious shots to the body. Valdez looking much more comfortable in the ring than Gradovich, landing clean shots seemingly at will. Valdez clearly the much more talented fighter in this match-up. Valdez landing, circling, and repeating. Gradovich suffers another cut. Valdez 10-9, 20-18.
Round 3: This fight pretty much resembles a bullfighter vs. a one-dimensional bull - Gradovich comes forward, Valdez makes him pay and gets out of harm's way. Valdez is really having his way in this fight, hitting Gradovich with anything he wants and mixing up his attack. Valdez 10-9.
Round 4: The fourth round is more of the same, Gradovich stalks forward, blocking punches with his face. Gradovich's isn't looking so good, his face visibly marked up. HARD LEFT HOOK DROPS GRADOVICH! Fight is over! VALDEZ TKO-4.
JOSE RAMIREZ vs MANNY PEREZ
Round 1: Ramirez comes out behind a lot of jabs, getting off to a quick start. Hard left hook to the body lands low for Perez - referee warns him to keep 'em up. Ramirez going right back to the jab and being very liberal with them, mixing in some combinations. Ramirez really starting to tee off on Perez now, who then quickly lands a big right of his own. Good round for Ramirez. 10-9 Ramirez.
Round 2: Ramirez lands a good left hook as Perez comes forward. Perez continues to come forward but takes plenty of jabs for his trouble. Nice left hook lands for Perez, Ramirez retaliates with a left hook to the body. Ramirez complains to the referee about another Perez low blow. Perez continues to target the body. Better round for Perez, but I think Ramirez edges it. 10-9 Ramirez.
Round 3: Perez coming forward really aggressively, picking up where he left off last round. Doesn't look like Ramirez can keep up the pace from the first or second round. Good left hook lands for Perez. Head clash causes a cut on Perez's face - could be a problem. Perez continues to come forward throwing hard shots to the body. His pressure seems to be having some effect on Ramirez now. 10-9 Perez, 28-29.
Round 4: Both men trading jabs. Ramirez unleashes a barrage of punches on Perez, lands some. Ramirez connecting with some uppercuts now and is picking up the pace. Ramirez unleashing lots of jabs, occasionally lining up Perez for a right hand that comes behind it. Ramirez really took it to Perez in that round. Ramirez 10-9.
Round 5: Ramirez throwing lots of punches again to open the round. Perez comes back with body shots, some of which stray low - not that he cares where they land. Ramirez doubles up on left hooks as he gets backed into the corner, circles back to the center of the ring. Perez lands a nicely-timed left to the body. Ramirez 10-9, 49-46.
Round 6: Sixth round opens with Ramirez going right back to his boxing game, throwing jabs an moving around a stalking Perez. Perez putting on a gritty performance but looks much less polished than Ramirez. Ramirez lands a another right hand behind a jab. Ramirez 10-9.
Round 7: Ramirez comes out and lands yet another right hand behind a jab that falls short. Hard left hook lands for Ramirez along the ropes, rattling Perez's jaw. The punishment appears to be accumulating on Perez. Easy round to score. Ramirez 10-9, 69-64.
Round 8: Perez's face looks busted up entering this round. Ramirez putting together three punch combinations. Perez unleashes several uppercuts in a row, none of them appear to land clean. Ramirez pumping the jab again, but Perez presses forward. Two punch combination to the body and head land for Perez. Ramirez comes back with his own combination. Left hook lands for Ramirez with just under a minute left in the round. Another round in the bank for Ramirez, but Perez making him work for it. Ramirez 10-9.
Round 9: Perez pushes into the corner for about a 30 second stretch, doesn't get too much done. Ramirez puts together three punch combinations with good frequency. Hard left to the body lands for Perez. More punches land for Ramirez, Perez is a bloody mess. Ramirez 10-9, 89-82.
Round 10: Perez comes out aggressive, with a sustained attack to the body. That seems to piss off Ramirez who is putting extra emphasis on his shots now. Double left hook lands for Ramirez. Hard punches stun Perez, this might be the end. Perez hangs tough, survives the moment. Perez still coming forward and throwing, he definitely came into this fight in good shape. Perez takes a beating to end the fight. Ramirez 10-9. BLH scores the fight for Ramirez, 99-91.
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