LAS VEGAS — Eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao returns to the ring at age 40 to prove he's still one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in all of boxing. He'll be defending his WBA (Regular) welterweight title Saturday night against Adrien Broner at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, live on Showtime PPV.
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Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KOs) is coming off his first knockout in nine years when he dispatched Lucas Matthysee last July. The boxing superstar and Filipino senator has looked rejuvenated despite crossing 40 in December. Out to prove that age ain't nothing but a number, Pacquiao will test himself against Broner, the youngest four-division champion.
Broner (33-3-1, 24 KOs) returns to the ring after battling Jessie Vargas to a draw last April. Despite being 0-1-1 in his last two fights, Broner remains one of the biggest attractions in boxing. While that may have more to do with his antics outside the ring than his recent accomplishments inside the squared circle, it matters little to Broner as he faces a living legend and looks to erase his turbulent past with a transcendent performance.
With a victory, Pacquiao will look to lure Floyd Mayweather Jr. out of retirement and attempt to avenge his 2015 loss. If Broner manages to come away with the victory, he'll certainly launch himself into rarefied air as one of the biggest cash cows in boxing.
In the co-main event, Badou Jack (22-1-3, 13 KOs) will face up-and-comer Marcus Browne (22-0, 16 KOs) for the vacant WBC (Silver) light heavyweight title.
Pacquiao vs. Broner results
Sporting News will have live coverage from inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena as we inch to the beginning of the main card at 9 p.m. ET.
Manny Pacquiao turns back the clock with dominant decision over Adrien Broner
Round 12: Another round where Broner does nothing but stay on his feet. Pacquiao chases but Broner refuses to fight back. The round ends and Broner hops on the ropes to celebrate. Celebrate what? His survival? 10-9 Pacquiao (119-109 Pacquiao)
Round 11: Pacquiao gives chase and looks for openings but Broner is just dancing away. He wants to leave here on his feet. Nothing else to see here. The arena is emptying out. 10-9 Pacquiao (109-100 Pacquiao).
Round 10: A slow round but it appears that Broner is simply trying to leave with his senses intact. Pacquiao continues to walk him down and Broner has no answers. 10-9 Pacquao (99-91 Pacquiao)
Round 9: Pacquiao continues to walk Broner down with little respect for his power. A straight left hand by Pacquiao sends Broner flying across the ring. Amazing that he's still standing. The worst part is that Broner was having an okay round until that point. 10-9 Pacquiao (89-82 Pacquiao).
Round 8: Although Broner was hurt, Pacquiao may have let his foot off the gas. Pacquiao did land a hard left hand over the top. It's being set up by his jab to the body and beautifully done. Broner isn't quite in survival mode, but he's getting close. 10-9 Pacquiao (79-73 Pacquiao).
Round 7: A straight left hand nearly kills Broner. He pulls his high guard and Pacquiao ransacks the body before going back upstairs and badly hurting Broner. Broner smiles but he staggers away. Pacquiao gives chase and lands again. The bell saves Broner. 10-9 Pacquiao (69-64 Pacquiao)
Round 6: Pacquiao giving chase but neither fighter lands anything until Broner closes the round with a hard left hook, right uppercut combination. May have stolen him the round. 10-9 Broner (59-55 Pacquiao).
Round 5: Not a whole lot from either fighter this round. Broner needs to lead and not follow Pacquiao in order to stay in the fight. He's simply outworking him. 10-9 Paccquiao (50-45 Pacquiao).
Round 4: Broner lands a hard right hand and a left hook to start the round. He needs to do more of that. But Pacquiao shakes it off and rumbles in with a straight left and right hand. The footwork is impressive and the speed at 40 is exceptional. Broner does land a hard counter right hand at the end of the round that could sway a judge. But it's another Pacquiao round. 10-9 Pacquiao (40-36 Pacquiao).
Round 3: Pacquiao with a hard right hand and a two punch strafing. Broner immediately holds. Pacquiao with another hard right hand. Broner is waiting for the perfect counter but Pacquiao is gone before he can throw. Too much speed and activity from Manny Pacquiao. 10-9 Pacquiao (30-27 Pacquiao).
Round 2: Pacquiao's activity is going to be a problem for Broner. Pacquiao lands a three punch combination and another left hand. Broner briefly stuns Pacquiao with a hard right hook. If he opens up it could be interesting but right now it's on Pacquiao. 10-9 Pacquiao (20-18 Pacquiao).
Round 1: Pacquiao lands a left hook and straight left in a round where both were feeling out. But the edge goes to Pacquiao due to activity. Broner is going to have to attack and can't wait. 10-9 Pacquiao (10-9 Pacquiao)
12:22 a.m.: It's main event time. They are cleaning up the blood in the ring before the National Anthem. Broner out to a chorus of boos but entertains with dancers and pyro. Pacquiao out to "Eye of the Tiger" to a huge ovation. It's about that time. We're going round by round with our updates from here on out.
Marcus Browne shuts down Badou Jack with unanimous decision victory
12:11 a.m.: The 12th round comes to an end and the story is Jack's gash that continues to spread down his forehead. It's awful. But that doesn't take away from Browne's dominant performance as he cruises to a 117-110, 116-111, 119-108 victory.
12:04 a.m.: It looks like Tony Weeks is refereeing a murder scene. Jack has a a one inch verticle gash right in the middle of his forehead and pouring blood. This fight ins't even close. It's just a crime scene after 11 rounds.
11:57 p.m.: The cut on Jack's head is getting worse and he doesn't have much left in the tank after nine rounds. Referee Tony Weeks is taking a long look at him because there may be little reason for this fight to continue if Jack doesn't show us something. Meanwhile, Browne is just picking his spots and landing that left hand at will.
11:50 p.m.: The hole keeps getting deeper for Badou Jack. Browne's confidence is growing with each round and Jack has done nothing to slow him down. To make matters worse, a clash of heads in the 7th has opened a gash on Jack's forehead. Browne docked a point for hitting on the break. Not that it matters because he's up big.
11:40 p.m.: Browne has his best round in the 5th. A hard left hook briefly staggered Jack and Browne kept the pressure on with body punching. Jack is notoriously a slow starter but he's digging himself a pretty big hole. Jack needs to do something because Browne's confidence is growing by the second.
11:28 p.m.: Jack is off to a slow start after two rounds. Neither fighter is doing much, but Browne has picked his spots and landed a few body shots and punches in short bursts. Jack has been lunging at Browne, which leaves him wide open for counters. Can Browne take advantage?
11:21 p.m.: The arena is filling up quite nicely. Quavo from Migos and his girlfriend Saweetie have taken their seat ringside by James Prince. The stars are filling in. And there goes Floyd Mayweather, who is certain to drum up speculation on a possible rematch with Pacquiao.
11:15 p.m.: The co-main event is up next as Badou Jack (22-1-3, 13 KOs) faces Marcus Browne (22-0, 16 KOs) for the vacant WBC (Silver) light heavyweight title. This looks to be a good one as Browne is an exceptional talent but has yet to face a quality opponent. Jack has been known to put on great performances and is looking to turn back the challenge of Browne. Jack is the favorite (-185) but Browne is certainly a live underdog.
Nordine Oubaali captures vacant WBC title with a unanimous decision over Warren
11:04 p.m.: Oubaali ran way with this one lat as his aggression, activity and right hand were the key to him winning the vacant WBC bantamweight title against Warren. Scores were 115-113, 116-112 & 117-111. Impressive victory for Oubaali.
10:53 p.m.: After ten rounds, Warren is likely in need of a knockout. However, with only 4 knockouts in his professional career, that outcome is unlikely. Warren is having his moments, but they are far and few in between as Oubaali continues to find a home for the right hand and is the busier fighter. It's a fun fight but one that Oubaali is pulling away with two rounds left.
10:43 p.m.: A great close to the seventh round by Oubaali, who landed some heavy leather toward the end of the frame. Warren sought to counter and it opened up an opportunity for a firefight. Oubaali is clearly the stronger of the two and outworking Warren.
10:38 p.m.: Warren is doing himself absolutely no favors by waiting. Oubaali is taking the fight to him while Warren is fighting in spurts. We're entering the 7th round and Oubaali should be up by a 5-1 or 4-2 margin on most scorecards. Warren simply isn't doing enough and Oubaali has caught him with some hard shots due to the pressure he's applying.
10:25 p.m.: Oubaali was having an excellent round in the third and then Warren let his hands go. The result was him stunning Oubaali with a combination to close the round. The action is heating up. We need it after that snoozer with Ruiz and Guevara.
10:22 p.m.: Warren has looked sharp early. His issue -- like his friend Adrien Broner -- is that he has often refused to let his hands go. But he's caught Oubaali a couple of times, including a hard right hook to close the 2nd round.
10:10 p.m.: The first fight of the night is won by Warren in the "furriest robe" competition. Oubaali's robe was furry but Warren took it to a whole different level with the fur.
10:02 p.m.: Next up is Rau’shee Warren vs. Nordine Oubaali for the vacant WBC bantamweight title. These two met in the 2012 Olympics with Oubaali (14-0, 11 KOs) beating Warren (16-2, 4 KOs) in the 2nd round.
Hugo Ruiz cruises to a unanimous decision over short notice opponent
9:55 p.m.: We didn't get a knockout so Ruiz took the victory with 100-89, 99-90 & 99-90 scores over Alberto Guevara. Not sure which round Guevara won but, thankfully, it's over.
9:49 p.m.: We've made it to the 10th round and this fight has been far from fun. After the first round knockdown, Ruiz has just cruised along. This one will mercifully end shortly with Ruiz winning by decision or stoppage. More than likely the former.
9:39 p.m.: Six rounds in and Ruiz has won every single one of them. However, this fight feels like it's gone three rounds too long. Ruiz is doing himself no favors by allowing a short notice opponent to continue to hang around.
9:30 p.m.: Well, Guevara is still hanging around and trying to make this a fight. Ruiz has been dominant thus far. In other news, the arena is about 1/3 full at the moment. It's still early and there are quite a few people hanging out in the casino.
9:17 p.m.: It didn't take long for Ruiz to put Guevara on his backside. A three-punch combination sank Guevara midway through the first round. It's clear that Guevara is in over his head. The question now is just how long will he last?
9:05 p.m.: We're minutes away from the first fight on the PPV kicking off with Hugo Ruiz facing Alberto Guevara in a 10 round featherweight bout. Ruiz (37-4, 31 KOs) was originally slated to face Jhack Tepora for an interim title. However, Tepora came in overweight and was pulled from the card yesterday. Guevara (27-3, 12 KOs) steps in on short notice and looking for the upset.
Pacquiao vs. Broner fight card
| Matchup | Class | Belt |
| Manny Pacquiao vs. Adrien Broner | Welterweight | WBA (Regular) |
| Badou Jack vs. Marcus Browne | Light heavyweight | WBA (Interim) |
| Nordine Oubaali vs. Rau'shee Warren | Bantamweight | WBC (Vacant) |
| Hugo Ruiz vs. Alberto Guevara | Featherweight | WBA (Interim) |
Pacquiao vs. Broner latest news
— Who is the toughest opponent of Adrien Broner's career? The former four-division world champion tells Sporting News why it's him.
— Feel like making some money on the big fight? Here are the latest odds, who SN picks to win and what prop bets you should consider.
— A lot is on the line for Manny Pacquiao and Adrien Broner. SN breaks down what's at stake for both fighters.
— Why did Broner go off the rails on Showtime Boxing analyst Al Bernstein? Here's why.
— Who wins between Pacquiao and Broner? SN talks to people inside the boxing industry and they give their picks.
— Manny Pacquiao has been in boxing for a long time. He takes a look back at his legendary career.
— Who is Marcus Browne? The man who fights for the WBA interim light heavyweight title gives SN a sneak peek at how he has gotten to this point.
