Manny Pacquiao entering the ring (Photo: Facebook.com)

By Chris Robinson

Moments ago, inside of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, Manny Pacquiao captured a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Tim Bradley.

The action was intense from the get-go, as the two men appeared to be trading rounds with one another through the first four frames.

Pacquiao had success with sharp lefts while Bradley countered by staying aggressive and getting in his foe’s chest. The action was hot and the crowd was caught up in all of the theatrics.

As the fight reached the second half, Pacquiao upped his work rate while a clearly fatigued Bradley began to fade just a bit.

In the 11th, Bradley attempted to pot shot, as the fight slowed down while each man caught a breather.

The 12th round saw Pacquiao press the issue, but not without serious retaliations from the champion, who swung for the fences with his right hand.

Once the final bell had tolled, Bradley approached Pacquiao and gave him his deserved respect.

Final scores of 118-110 and 116-112 twice were all read in Pacquiao’s favor, as he raises his ledger to 56-5-2 with 38 knockouts while Bradley suffers his first loss and falls to 31-1 with 12 knockouts.

“He gave me a good fight,” Pacquiao said of Bradley, even noting that he felt a heavy right hand in the early rounds.

The attention now turns to Pacquiao’s future in the ring and he told HBO’s Max Kellerman that everything is up to his promoter, Bob Arum with Top Rank.

Stay tuned for more.

Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com