No more surprises this time, again

MOMMY Dionisia’s fervent ringside prayers helped but it was her son who did all the punching to hammer out a well-deserved unanimous decision in Las Vegas.

Truly, God helps those who help themselves.

Eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao boxed precisely and convincingly to reclaim his welterweight championship belt from Tim Bradley. The tough American, described by commentator Mario Lopez as “built like an action figure,” suffered his first loss in 31 fights.

Why was Bradley horsing around through most of the fight? Why was he preoccupied with taunting Pacquiao? If Bradley had a mind game in mind, it obviously did not work and cannot hope to hurt a warrior like Pacquiao who has already been through too many battles.

Bradley did connect occasionally, as he did with tremendous power in the fourth round.  The theater where I watched gasped collectively then and the fears of an awful afternoon threatened. But Pacquiao would not let that happen. He boxed out of trouble, maintained his defensive measures and kept his composure.

It was clear that Pacquiao was the superior fighter and Bradley was nowhere near the form in which he won against Juan Manuel Marquez and Russian Ruslan Provodnikov.

Bradley will watch the video of the fight and see that he did not throw enough leather and missed Pacquiao with some very wild shots. Pacquiao connected cleanly and still had the hand speed that created several flurries of punches.

Pacquiao was clearly a little more careful and did not want to be overly aggressive.  This may be understood as a result of the Marquez fight where he was leading but was hit by a huge shot before the sixth round bell sounded. This happens to fighters. I do not believe Pacquiao has lost any of his competitive fire as Bradley claimed before the fight.  He’s just a little more prudent as any athlete who hits 35 years of age would be.

Where does this all lead to? As always, Pacquiao will say he will fight anyone his promoter tells him to fight and so Bob Arum will be hard at work in the next months trying to nail another promotion for the star of his outfit. Don’t be surprised if there will be a third fight with Bradley because the American will make some noise and say that he deserves another chance.

But what about that fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.? As Mayweather says, he will not fight Pacquiao as long as Arum handles Pacquiao. Something needs to be done to break that impasse. Arum’s not going to let go of Pacquiao unless the Filipino champion breaks away from him to make the Mayweather fight happen. There’s got to be another way.

But let us relish Pacquiao’s victory. As we enter the homestretch of his glorious career, let us be thankful for all he has blessed us with: Victories and even his participation on an international stage for so long. He is again proof that yes, the Filipino can achieve anything.