Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley: Judges' Scorecards, Fight Stats and Reaction

The trainer can't get in the ring and fight for the boxer; we learned that lesson anew in emphatic fashion when Manny Pacquiao dissected Timothy Bradley Saturday night on the way to a unanimous decision.

Much chatter surrounded this fight because Bradley was coming off a knockout victory thanks to the presence of new trainer Teddy Atlas. His guidance couldn't stop Pacquiao, who cruised to a unanimous decision, per HBO Boxing.

All three judges agreed on the 116-110 score, sending Pacquiao off into what sounds like retirement as a winner in his usual fashion and leaving Bradley to pick up the pieces. His lone victory against Pacquiao in 2012 remains one of the most controversial finishes in recent history.

ABS-CBN's Boyet J. Sison provided a look at the official scorecards:

The scorecards don't really do this one justice, though.

In their past two bouts, Bradley had his foot on the pedal, attempting to overwhelm Pacquiao. Atlas changed this after watching the prior 24 rounds between the two fighters, instead trying to get Bradley to lure Pacquiao into a trap before connecting with a counter.

As CompuBox numbers show, though, this plan backfired in a big way. Pacquiao was much more active than Bradley, making the decision for the judges rather simple:

The most telling stat of all? Pacquiao's connection rate with Bradley's head, as detailed by ESPN Stats & Info:

The bout was never close except for the eighth round, when Bradley had Pacquiao up on the ropes and in serious trouble, but he couldn't make serious headway before the bell and never did again in the subsequent rounds.

To his credit, even Pacquiao praised Bradley after the fight. The Filipino admitted that he was headhunting for an emphatic finish to his career, according to ESPN.com's Dan Rafael.

"I was looking for a knockout in every round," Pacquiao said. "He's a very tough fighter and a very good counterpuncher. Bradley is a good boxer, a great fighter and a good man. It was not easy tonight, [but] my right shoulder was fine. It gave me no problems."

Unfortunately for Bradley, the globe reacted about as expected, given the widespread distaste of his first victory. 

Maybe Laceup Boxing had the best reaction of the night, which fits with the theme of the fight quite well:

Pacquiao, on the other hand, showed his 11 months on the shelf after a shoulder injury suffered against Floyd Mayweather Jr. didn't amount to much. In fact, the only thing that Saturday's bout really did was reinforce the idea that the rubber match was rather unnecessary, given the 24 rounds of Pacquiao dominance in the books, odd decision aside.

Many post-fight thoughts went right to the subject of Mayweather, of course. ESPN's Skip Bayless led the charge:

Others disagreed, of course.

In the mind of The Vertical's Chris Mannix, Pacquiao's inability to get a flashy victory against an opponent he was clearly better than leaves a rematch with Mayweather dead in the water:

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Mayweather is retired, but Roach believed one thing: A brilliant performance by Pacquiao might be able to sway him. A knockout — and an early one — of a high-level opponent like Bradley might get Mayweather’s attention, might stir public interest in the fading narrative that Pacquiao’s shoulder was responsible for an underwhelming defeat. He impressed it on his aging pupil throughout camp, desperately hoping Pacquiao would rediscover his once-famed power.

"

There is much debate as to whether a rematch with Mayweather should happen. For now, Pacquiao sounds retired and ready to focus on politics in his native Philippines.

In that vein, no reaction went against the grain—Pacquiao has had a legendary career, and it's fitting he walked off the stage with a strong decision. That he did it by putting down one of his past demons only makes the ending better, should it indeed stand as the ending.

Maybe it won't. The boxing world is rife with viable opponents. Maybe the political side of things won't work out or Pacquiao simply rediscovers the itch.

No matter which way it goes, if it stands, Pacquiao had the proper send-off Saturday, albeit in quiet fashion. At this point, though, it doesn't sound as if he'd want it any other way.