Pacquiao, Bradley trade pleasantries

Manny Pacquiao, right, of the Philippines, and Timothy Bradley trade blows in their WBO welterweight title boxing fight Saturday, April 12, 2014, in Las Vegas. Pacquiao won by unanimous decision. AP

MANILA, Philippines – After having some prefight words for each other, Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley couldn’t help but exchange pleasantries just moments after going another full 12 rounds in the ring.

Pacquiao, who reclaimed the WBO welterweight crown Saturday (Sunday in Manila), stood side by side with the erstwhile unbeaten Bradley during the post-fight interview by HBO’s Larry Merchant and the two had nothing to say but good words for one another.

“I think [I had] to do more because he is very different from [the] first fight. He has improved a lot,” Pacquiao said of Bradley after scoring a decisive 116-112, 116-112, 118-110 victory at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Bradley, dealt with his first defeat after starting his professional career at 31-0, had success in the early rounds with the fourth round being his best after hurting Pacquiao with a solid punch.

Bradley, who claimed before the fight that Pacquiao had lost his killer instinct, though, started to fade while Pacquiao gained steam in the latter rounds.

“He has impeccable timing and great footwork and he is very coordinated on his feet and good punching power stunned me a couple of times in the ring but I held on,” Bradley said.

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