‘Aggressive but careful’ Manny Pacquiao cruises to victory

Manny Pacquiao, right, hits Adrien Broner during a WBA welterweight title boxing match Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

MANILA, Philippines—There’s no denying that Manny Pacquiao is far from his loose canon self when he was in his 20s and early 30s during his illustrious boxing career.

Pacquiao was a mad typhoon atop the boxing ring during his days as a flyweight throughout lightweight only slowing down, in his own way, when he became a welterweight in 2009.

And part of him slowing down was also being more careful atop the ring, that was what trainer Buboy Fernandez constantly reminded during the fight against Adrien Broner for the WBA World welterweight title on Sunday (Manila time) at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“My trainer Buboy said not to be careless, just take your time, and that’s what I did,” said Pacquiao during his post-fight interview with Showtime’s Jim Gray.

Pacquiao scored an easy unanimous decision win over Broner that saw the Filipino launch an offensive attack in the seventh and ninth rounds comparable to his days when he was still between 112 to 140 lbs.

The aggressiveness, however, came at a price when Pacquiao fought Juan Manuel Marquez for the fourth time in 2012 at welterweight.

Pacquiao cornered Marquez and attempted to launch one final attack before the end of the sixth but the Mexican landed a marvelous right overhand that knocked the Filipino out.

“Although I want to be more aggressive my coach told me not to be careless,” said Pacquiao (61-7-2). “Aggressive, but not careless.”