Manny's win for victims of typhoon

Boxer Manny Pacquiao dedicated Sunday's one-sided points victory over Brandon Rios to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan, then promised to visit the worst-hit Tacloban area on his return to the Philippines.

His team had told him not to interrupt his training camp to offer support to the victims ahead of the welterweight clash.

"I felt so bad about what happened there and this victory is for all the families who were affected," said the 34-year-old.

"I couldn't go before but I will go there now."

Pacquiao dominated American Rios who had few bright spots and was forced to show plenty of toughness to last the 12-round distance at the Cotai Arena.

The three judges scored the contest 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110, meaning one awarded Pacquiao every round.

The most generous to his Texan opponent thought the underdog had won only two sessions.

Pacquiao admitted he had eased off towards the final bell, partly due to the memory of being knocked out by Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez in his previous fight last December.

"I took chances against Marquez and paid for it so I didn't want to give Brandon the same kind of opportunities," he said.

"Boxing is not about killing someone, it's entertainment and I think most people will be satisfied with my performance.

"Brandon was able to show he can take a lot of punches."

Rios, 27, said afterwards that he was surprised by Pacquiao's hand speed but claimed none of the punches had really hurt him.

"He did a good job and showed he still has great skills so I take my hat off to him.

"I tried my heart out."

The result was vindication of sorts for a fighter who had lost his two previous bouts, results which had some observers writing the epitaphs to his legendary career.

It was also sweet revenge for his camp, following the altercation between his coach Freddie Roach and members of the Rios camp on Wednesday.

That incident saw Roach, 53, kicked in the chest by Alex Ariza, the American boxer's strength and conditioning coach, and mocked for his speech, which has been affected by Parkinson's disease.

The capacity crowd of 15,000 lapped up Pacquiao's technical display, with former England captain David Beckham and socialite Paris Hilton watching from ringside.

Elite boxers Miguel Cotto, from Puerto Rico, and Russia's Ruslan Provodnikov were also in attendance. Both train under Roach in Los Angeles.

Pacquiao refused to say who he wants to fight next but Roach rekindled hope that a long-awaited showdown with American Floyd Mayweather will materialise.

"Mayweather is the number one guy that we want," he said.

"I think Manny's speed would overwhelm him and it's the fight the whole world wants to see."

After back-to-back defeats, Pacquiao's display here could finally make that happen.

His victory improves his record to 55 wins (38 KOs) against five defeats and two draws while it was Rios' second defeat in 34 fights.

jturner@sph.com.sg

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