Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines (R) punches Brandon Rios of the United States during their WBO international welterweight title fight in Macau Sunday. Pacquiao defeated Rios by unanimous decision to take the title and return to his accustomed winning ways after successive defeats. — AP MACAU — Filipino great Manny Pacquiao scored a decisive, unanimous decision victory against American Brandon Rios Sunday to end a two-fight losing streak and win the vacant WBO International welterweight title. Pacquiao was dominant throughout, showing vastly greater hand speed than his opponent and landing blistering combinations that left Rios' right eye swollen and his left eye bleeding. Pacquiao was unable to score any knockdowns but he frustrated his foe, who on several occasions swung at nothing but air as the Filipino moved out of the way and returned fire before Rios could cover up. The judges scored it 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110. For Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KOs), the win was a welcome return to form after a controversial points loss to Timothy Bradley in June 2012 and a sixth-round knockout at the hands of Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez in December had prompted retirement talks. More than his victory, the fighter, also a congressman from Sarangani Province in the Philippines, wanted to shift focus on the hardships faced by his countrymen following Typhoon Haiyan, which slammed into the nation on Nov. 8 and killed at least 4,000 people. “This isn't about my comeback,” he insisted. “My victory is a symbol of my people's comeback from a natural disaster, a national tragedy. It's really important to bring honor to my country with this win.” The tone of the fight was set early and remained the same for all twelve rounds. Rios (31-2-1, 22 KOs) put his gloves high in front of his face in an attempt to block Pacquiao's blows, but the eight-time world champion threw so many punches that quite a few broke through to leave their marks on the American's face. Showing deft footwork, Pacquiao would jab, turn swiftly to one side, land another punch and turn again. On several occasions, one straight left would be followed by another, and then, having pierced Rios' defense, Pacquiao would open up with a barrage of four or five punches, to the delight of the more than 13,000 in attendance at the Cotai Arena in the Venetian Macao. “All I can say is, many Manny punches,” smiled Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach. “He fought the perfect fight. He let him off the hook. I wanted him to knock him out. But I was very happy with his performance.” Fight week had been marked by tension between the two fight camps, which culminated in Roach and members of the Rios team engaging in a scuffle on Wednesday morning but Rios was gracious in defeat. “I got beaten by one of the best fighters in the world,” he said. “He came with a game plan and he executed it. He's very fast and he throws punches from a lot of different angles. He's hard to fight against.” Pacquiao returned the compliments. “My opponent was very tough,” he said. “He is a strong fighter, and a tough fighter. Rios was not an easy opponent. He was one of the toughest opponents I've ever faced.” Following Pacquiao's December knockout against Marquez, there were questions over whether he could still compete at an elite level. Roach had hinted that defeat against Rios would be a reason for his fighter to retire. Victory, however, prompted a different response. “This is still my time,” said Pacquiao. “My time is not over.” Rios' trainer Robert Garcia agreed. “Pacquiao still has it,” he said. “He has quickness and great speed. He'll be around for a long time.” Pacquiao's performance suggested he could get back to the pinnacle, even with his 35th birthday looming next month. Commercial impediments count against a much-awaited bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr., but Pacquiao is still eager for it to happen. “Anybody who wants to fight with me, I can fight,” Pacquiao said. “I am willing to fight Floyd but it's up to him, if he is willing also.” Chinese boxing hope Zou Shiming claimed his third professional victory Sunday, saying he's watching Philippine star Manny Pacquiao as he makes the transition from the amateur ranks. Two time Olympic gold medalist Zou defeated Juan Toscano of Mexico in a six-round flyweight bout on the undercard. Earlier, Australian Billy Dib failed in his bid to regain the IBF world featherweight title when he was stopped in the ninth round by undefeated Russian champion Evgeny Gradovich. Dib was given a standing eight count in the sixth round and thereafter took continual punishment. He was nailed by a huge left hand from the classy Russian in the eighth which staggered him backward. A barrage of combinations followed. Although Dib made it to the end of the round it was soon over when the referee finally decided the brave Aussie had taken too much punishment after one minute and 10 seconds of the ninth. Supersized Mexican heavyweight Andy Ruiz, who tipped the scales at a whopping 258 pounds (117 kilograms) at Saturday's weigh-in, retained his WBO international belt by TKO when American opponent Tor Hamer failed to come out for the fourth round of their 10-round contest. Froch stops Groves Carl Froch came from behind to retain his International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association super-middleweight titles with a controversial ninth-round stoppage of fellow Englishman George Groves in Manchester Saturday. Groves, 25, floored Froch, the older man by 11 years, in the first round and was on top for most of the fight. But with Groves seemingly ahead on points, Froch hit him with a powerful left hook in the ninth round. And with Groves on the ropes, referee Howard Foster stopped the fight to the disgust of the Londoner, who complained vehemently. Hernandez defends title World cruiserweight champion Yoan Pablo Hernandez defended his IBF title with a tenth round knock-out against Russian mandatory challenger Alexander Alekseev in Bamberg, Germany. Cuba's Hernandez was pushed hard, but ended up putting the Russian on the canvas for the third and final time after 1 mins 35 seconds of the tenth round in the early hours of Sunday. Berlin-based Hernandez defended the title he won two years ago against America's Steve Cunningham for a third time. — Agencies
