LAS VEGAS—“Alter your reality,” proclaims a 20-story electronic mural for illusionist David Copperfield’s show at MGM Grand Hotel.
The jumbotron message flashing on the Tropicana Boulevard side of the hotel has possibly become the anthem of sorts for Manny Pacquiao and the 16,000 or so fans who witnessed another one of his milestones tonight.
Pacquiao not only scored a unanimous victory to wrest the WBO welterweight championship from Timothy Bradley. The fighting congressman from Sarangani also brought the previously unbeaten fighter known as “Desert Storm” back to earth from his high flying ways.
The win was courtesy of the judges who had verdicts of 116-112, 116-112 and 118-110 for Pacquiao. The 35-year-old Manny thus changed the perception of the world’s boxing populace that he was too old and worn out to win against a boxer, who like him came up from the rough edges of life.
The wait for the rematch with a boxer who scored a controversial victory over the fighting pride of the Philippines lasted all of 22 months.
It took just 36 minutes for Pacquiao to deliver the desired outcome and the simple truth of his superiority over Bradley, who is now 31-1 with 12 knockouts.
Pacquiao improved to 56-5 with two draws and 38 KOs.
Bradley told Max Kellerman of HBO that he pulled his right calf in the first round, but added he had no excuses for losing to one of the more popular and more successful boxers in history.
Pacquiao told Kellerman that Bradley “threw a lot of punches and I didn’t want to be careless. In the second half of the fight, I listened to my corner and they told me to work on the timing of my punches.”
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(Chants of “Manny, Manny” erupted all throughout the bout. Among the Pacquiao partisans in the house included 19 young executives from AXA Global insurance of Manila who made the trip to Vegas as part of an incentive bonus from their company.)