Manny Pacquaio beat Jessie Vargas via unanimous decision (114-113, 118-111, 118-111) on his return to the ring to win the WBO welterweight title.
Both boxers were tentative in the opening rounds but Manny swung the fight in his favour early with a flash knockdown in the second.
In another cagey round, Vargas stepped in with a left hand and was caught off balance by the Filipino, who put him down with a short, snappy left to take the second.
Bouyed by the knockdown, Pacquiao increased the pressure in the third to increase his advantage, but his adrenaline seemed to have got the better of him as Vargas fought back strongly.
Vargas admitted afterwards he probably needed the knockdown to wake him up and he came into life as the fight approached the halfway mark.
The defending champion would go on to take at least two, if not all three, of the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds, keeping Pacquiao at bay and landing a number of good punches without overly troubling the Filipino.
But as the fight got into the seventh round momentum swung back Pacquiao's way.
Without doing anything especially flashy, the senator took control of the fight and, despite taking a handful of good shots from the American, did enough to win most if not all of the final six rounds.
As the fight approached the closing rounds it became obvious that Vargas was in need of a stoppage, but fatigue looked to have set in as his movement became more sluggish, allowing Pacquiao to coast over the finish line.
After the fight, Pacquiao admitted he was wary of the threat Vargas posed on the counter.
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