Pacquiao makes good on vow to go all-out

LAS VEGAS – Manny Pacquiao lived up on his promise to become aggressive in his third encounter with Timothy Bradley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena here on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

Statistics released by Compubox, which tallies the punches in boxing matches, showed Pacquiao throwing a total of 439 blows, landing 122 of them for an accuracy of 27.8 percent.

He later told everyone he was gunning for a knockout, something that has eluded him since 2009 when he stopped Miguel Cotto.

“This (fight) is different. I was looking for a knockout every round,” he said in a short interview on the ring right after scroring a unanimous decision over Bradley to cap their trilogy.

Pacquiao flicked 238 jabs and connected on 30 on them. As for power punches, he dazed Bradley with some of them, the most notable moments coming in the seventh and ninth rounds when he floored Bradley in front of a heavily pro-Pacquiao crowd.

He scored those two knockdowns off flurries, each of which was capped by quick right and left straights.

Pacquiao unleashed a total of 201 power blows, and 92 of them found their mark.

Pacquiao stressed that he tried to take Bradley out for good and at the same time not commit the same mistake he did when he got glassed by Juan Manuel Marquez in their fourth bout in 2014.

“I was aggressive but also careful," he added.

It was the opposite for Bradley though, who went 99-of-302 in total punches. But the American was more accurate at 32.8 percent.

Bradley had his moments against Pacquiao, starting the bout strong, landing on a few combinations. He rocked Pacquiao with beautiful right-left combo in the sixth round and forced the Filipino icon on the ropes.

But in the end, he trailed in the power punching department, landing 87 of the 218 blows he uncorked.

For Bradley, Pacquiao did a good job counterpunching him.

“Manny was drawing me in. He was waiting on me to lounge so he can counter me,” Bradley narrated to reporters at the post-fight conference.

“He [Pacquiao] was super smart tonight,” he added.

The numbers agree with Bradley.

INFOGRAPHIC: #PacBradley3 by the numbers