MANILA,
Philippines – American Timothy Bradley stunned the world and claimed the WBO
Welterweight title by outpointing pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao via split
decision Sunday (Manila Time) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
All
judges scored 115-113, two in favor of the still undefeated Bradley and one for
Pacquiao — who suffered his first defeat in seven years.
Bradley
hung tough in the first few rounds and came out impressive in the final three,
connecting with his lightning speed jabs and great combinations and making it
ultimately hard for Pacquiao to get inside.
Bradley,
who says he has never trained harder in his life, improved his record to 29-0-1
with 12 KOs while Pacquiao slid to 54-42 with 38 KOs.
With
the loss, Pacquiao, who has not knocked out an opponent since 2009, snapped an
impressive 15-fight winning streak. His last loss was to Erik Morales in 2005.
Pacquiao
came out blistering in the first few rounds but Bradley has matched his
intensity all throughout, and managed to elude the Filipino boxing great’s
dangerous combinations and a knockout.