Manny Pacquiao had a lot of doubters heading into his fight with Brandon Rios early Sunday morning in Macau, China. He answered those doubters with a thorough domination of "Bam Bam" that resulted in a unanimous decision victory for the superstar.
Though Rios' power was expected to give Pacquiao problems, it was Pacman's elite boxing skill that carried the day for the eight-division champion.
Here's a look back at the fight, examining what went right and wrong for each of the fighters in this welterweight bout.
What Went Right for Pacquiao
There was only one way that Pacquiao was going to lose this fight—by eating a huge blow from Rios. The answer to that was obviously to remain a moving target. He did just that, as he consistently got punches off first and got out of dodge before Rios could answer:
In addition to his fancy footwork, it was Pacquiao's commitment to punches in bunches that made the difference. Rather than go for the knockout and risk a brutal counterpunch, he kept to the game plan of forcing Rios to defend combo after combo.
In the end, this was about as impressive a performance as you could hope for from Pacquiao. It was nice to see him utilize his boxing skills to build a lead over the course of the fight rather than open himself up for counters by going for the finish.
A patient Pacquiao proved to be a difficult one to beat for Rios.
What Went Wrong for Pacquiao
Very little. Pacquiao showed why he's still considered a top draw in the world of boxing after dropping back-to-back fights.
However, if we're in the business of picking nits, he likely could have finished this fight within the distance if he wanted to:
The fact is, Pacquiao may not have the power that he once did, but he's still a top-flight boxer who is tough to beat when he's on his game.
What Went Right for Rios
Rios has a reputation for being an aggressive fighter, but he understood that he had to rein that in against a strong puncher like Pacquiao. In the early rounds, he did a good job of focusing on defense when he was able to close the distance, as noted by Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports:
Unfortunately for Rios, those moments became fewer and farther between as the fight wore on. Pacquiao's pace became too much, and his movement ensured that the two weren't fighting in a phone booth very often.
However, Rios' heart has to be acknowledged. He was outclassed by Pacquiao but continued to take punches to land his own.
What Went Wrong for Rios
Where to begin?
Rios faced the tall task of taking on a fighter who was clearly much more skilled than himself, and it showed. As previously mentioned, there just wasn't much that the underdog could do to counter Pacquiao's consistent movement and sharp combinations.
Rios needed Pacquiao to have an off night and turn things into a brawl as quickly as possible to pick up the win. He was able to do neither.
At 27 years old, Rios may have some big fights as his career progresses, but Sunday morning in Macau was all about Pacquiao.
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