Manny Pacquiao Bangs Brandon Rios In Stylish Comeback

Photos by Chris Farina for Top Rank

by Gautham Nagesh 

Reports of Manny Pacquiao’s demise have been greatly exaggerated, judging by the Filipino superstar’s dominating win over Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios on HBO Pay Per View Saturday night from Macau.

Pacquiao wasn’t quite the destroyer that set the boxing world afire in the last decade, but he had more than enough for the tough but limited Rios. Pacquiao was simply too quick for the plodding Rios, beating him to the punch, then dancing circles around the Kansas native. By the midway point, the only suspense was whether Rios would see the final bell.

If the question was whether Pacquiao could recover from his knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez, the answer is a resounding yes. For those who felt Pacquiao was on the decline before that loss, this win will do little to sway their opinions. Indeed, a younger, fresher Pacquiao probably would have stopped Rios before the final bell. For his part, the Pacman was reluctant to downplay the difficulty of the seemingly routine win.

“My time is not over yet. Rios is not an easy opponent, he’s a good fighter, a strong fighter. I consider this fight one of the toughest fights of my career,” Pacquiao said.

However, when questioned about his next bout, Pacquiao deferred to his promoter, Top Rank boss Bob Arum. That’s probably just as well, since this version of Pacquiao, while formidable, would have little chance of defeating Floyd Mayweather Jr. Still, the gulf between the very top and mere contenders remains large in boxing, as Rios found out on this night.[[MORE]]

Pacquiao looked sharp from the outset, using his speed to land his straight left hand while staying at a distance. Rios had some early success when he managed to get close to his opponent, but he fought more defensively than usual throughout the fight. The caution is understandable, given Pacquiao’s speed and power, but the absence of pressure allowed Pacquiao to dictate the terms of the fight.

The action heated up in the second, as Rios made things rough and forced Pacman against the ropes. Pacquiao responded with some blinding combinations, and a number of straight left hands that found home cleanly on Rios’ face. Rios spent far too much time on the outside, and was unable to get close enough to make his nine-pound weight advantage a factor. The referee was generous in allowing Rios to work on the inside, but the opportunities were too few to change the tide of the fight.

Pacquiao began dancing around the ring in the 3rd, a strategy that worked against Rios for Richar Abril and Mike Alvarado. Pacquiao’s rapid-fire flurries kept Rios covered up, then he stepped to the side and ducked away before Rios could fire back. Rios was reduced to following Pacquiao around the center of the ring, while trying to trap him agains the ropes for a quick barrage. Rios had some success, but the difference in foot and hand speed was too much for him to overcome.

The 5th round was a good one for Pacquiao, who caught Rios with a textbook left hand to the face. Pacquiao began firing punches in fully automatic bursts, while Rios increasingly covered up rather than throw back. At that point there was little danger of Rios even making a dent on the scorecards, let alone winning a decision. Rios appeared to sense this, and began looking more desperate to land a big power shot.

Pacquiao’s right hook began landing more frequently in the middle rounds, re-arranging Rios’ features into a sidewalk chalk caricature. To his credit, Rios did not even contemplate going down. He simply kept trudging forward, barely firing back, but still gamely absorbing punches and hoping to get lucky somehow and hurt his foe. There were opportunities, and Rios did land some good punches, but the gamechanger never arrived.

Pacquiao looked cool and collected at the final bell, having earned his first clear win since beating Shane Mosley two and a half years ago. Where he goes from here is hard to say. Pacquiao is clearly good enough to keep fighting, and he could probably beat almost anyone at welterweight. The only fight most of us want to see is him vs Mayweather, but that is unlikely to happen for a host of factors, not least of which their rival allegiances to HBO and Showtime respectively.

Among the Top Rank stable, Pacquiao could pursue a rematch against Bradley or a fifth fight with Marquez, who recently lost his own tussle with Bradley. Unfortunately, Marquez appears uninterested in another war with Pacquiao, which makes a Bradley rematch the natural choice for Pacquiao should he elect to keep fighting. I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t happen, since my concerns about Pacquiao’s long-term health would be less pronounced than if he face a puncher like Ruslan Provodnikov instead.

Featherweight Evgeny Gradovich (above) firmly established his superiority over Australia’s Billy Dib in a rematch that served as the appetizer to the main event. Gradovich stopped the game Dib in the 9th round of a scheduled 12, after winning a narrow decision in their first meeting. Dib was simply out-gunned and eventually wore down under the constant pressure of the “Mexican Russian.”

Gradovich is no huge puncher, but he landed sharp, accurate punches consistently from the opening bell. Dib tried everything he could to survive, but Gradovich floored him in the 6th and finished it with a final onslaught against the ropes in the 9th, forcing Dib’s corner to stop the fight.

New York City heavyweight Tor Hamer (right) looked sharp enough to pull the upset through two rounds against unbeaten prospect Andy Ruiz Jr. (left).Hamer used his edge in length and quickness to pepper Ruiz with shots to his head and ample gut. Ruiz shook Hamer with a couple blows in response, but overall Hamer appeared to be controlling the fight.

Unfortunately, as is his wont, Hamer faded quickly after his sterling start. He fell apart in the 3rd, allowing Ruiz to regain his footing and start unloading combinations. Hamer didn’t even leave his stool for the 4th, accepting the inevitable. It was a poor showing by Hamer, who should seriously consider retiring.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming (left) of China easily out-pointed Juan Toscano (right) over six rounds in a fight that should have been stopped early. Shiming showed more polish than his first two professional fights, landing some right hands early that showed real snap. It will take much better competition to determine whether Shiming can become a real contender or is simply destined to become a sideshow.

Former Puerto Rican Olympian Felix Verdejo (above) opened the show with an easy six-round decision over the rugged Petchsamuthr Duanaaymukdahan of Thailand. Duanaaymukdahan landed few blows of consequence, but he gave Verdejo some good rounds, took a lot of punches, and appeared to enjoy his moment in the spotlight.  Hopefully the crowd in Macau left feeling the same way.