Pacquiao survives sneaky haymaker in 4th round

Timothy Bradley, left, trades blows with Manny Pacquiao, of the Philippines, in their WBO welterweight title boxing bout Saturday, April 12, 2014, in Las Vegas. AP

LAS VEGAS—Manny Pacquiao felt it. Freddie Roach saw it. But Timothy Bradley failed to pounce on it.

The overhand right he had been practicing all along nearly gave Bradley the opportunity to go for the kill during his rematch with Pacquiao Saturday night.

“He hurt me on the chin,” admitted Pacquiao, who survived the big blow in the fourth round and went on to regain the WBO welterweight crown from Bradley with a unanimous decision victory.

“I got hurt, but it wasn’t that solid, so I dared to go after him,” Pacquiao added.

“He hurt him with a big right,” acknowledged Roach. “Manny shook a little, but he’s definitely hurt in the fourth.”

Bradley’s corner also saw the effect of the blow on Pacquiao but the instruction to go for the kill was drowned by the din created by the 15,601 fans. When Bradley realized what he had done, it was too late.

Pacquiao shook off the cobwebs in his head and was, as quickly, back in business again.

According to Bradley, the overhand right was the weapon they had been working on at training camp. It was intended to catch Pacquiao coming in, the way Marquez did in knocking out the Filipino in 2012.

Unfortunately, the haymaker wasn’t perfectly timed. It was also delivered not as crisp and vicious than the one from Marquez that felled Pacquiao.

Still, Bradley will go home blaming himself for the lost opportunity to stop Pacquiao, whose chin now seems the weakest spot in the Filipino’s armor.

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