Pacquiao napanatili ang titulo
Wala sa edad ‘yan!
LAS VEGAS – Pinatunayan ni Manny Pacquiao na sa edad na 40-anyos ay kaya pa rin niyang makipagsabayan bagama’t nabigong makapagtala ng knockout win.
Dinomina ni Pacquiao ang 29-anyos na si American challenger Adrien Broner para matagumpay na maidepensa ang suot na WBA welterweight crown sa harap ng 13,025 fans sa loob ng MGM Grand.
“I proved in my last fight against Matthysse and now I proved it again. The Manny Pacquiao journey will still continue,” sabi ni Pacquiao.
Ang nasabing WBA welterweight belt ay inagaw ni Pacquiao kay Lucas Matthysse ng Argentina via seventh-round TKO win noong Hulyo sa Kuala Lumpur.
Iniskoran nina judges Tim Cheatham at Glenn Feldman ang laban sa magkatulad na 116-112 habang nagbigay si Dave Moretti ng 117-111 – lahat para kay Pacquiao.
Muling hinamon ni Pacquiao si Floyd Mayweather Jr. sa isang rematch, ngunit hindi sumagot ang American boxing legend na nanood mula sa ringside.
“I’m willing to fight again (against) Floyd Mayweather,” ani Pacquiao matapos talunin si Broner. “If he’s willing to come back in boxing.”
Ilang beses napuruhan ni Pacquiao si Broner at tila gusto na itong pabagsakin kundi lamang siya binalaan ni trainer Buboy Fernandez ukol sa counter-punches ng American challenger.
“Although I wanted to be more aggressive, my camp told me not to be careless and to just counter him and wait for opportunities. My trainer said, ‘Don’t be careless. Wait for him, counter,’ and that’s what I did,” wika ni Pacquiao.
Muntik na ring mapatumba ni Pacquiao si Broner sa ninth round.
“There was a round that I wanted to finish him. But Buboy said, ‘Be aggressive but don’t be careless,” dagdag ni Pacquiao, nakamit ang ika-61 panalo, habang nalasap ni Broner ang pang-apat niyang kabiguan.
Sinabi ni Sean Gibbons, isa sa mga handlers ni Pacquiao, sa post-fight press conference na “Forty is the new twenty.”
Nagustuhan naman ito ni Pacquiao, nilabanan si Broner na may sipon.
“I got the cold from the weather here. I went to the ring with the cold but I still focused and did my best,” ani Pacquiao.
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