ast month that he was still a force to be reckoned with in boxing. He is.
While he might not be the overwhelming force he was in his electrifying prime, boxing's only eight-division world champion showed that he was still pretty darn good as he easily rolled past Adrien Broner by unanimous decision Saturday night to retain his secondary welterweight world title for the first time.
The 13,025 inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena, where Pacquiao made his American debut 18 years ago, cheered his every move as he delivered a vintage performance in which he showed he is still fast, still skilled and still has some pop in his fists as he rocked Broner several times.
In the end, it was a wipeout, though the judges did give Broner some love in scoring the fight 117-111, 116-112 and 116-112. ESPN.com had it a shutout for Pacquiao, 120-108.
"I feel so happy because I did my best in the fight and in training. Thank God for this victory," Pacquiao said. "I'm so happy because God gave me this good health. At the age of 40, I can still give my best. Although I wanted to be aggressive more, my camp told me don't be careless and to counter him and wait for opportunities."
Pacquiao, a future Hall of Famer and an all-time great, won the 147-pound belt by dominant seventh-round knockout of Lucas Matthysse in July in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, his first KO win in nine years. That victory set the stage for his return to the United States for the first time in 26 months to face Broner in what could have served as a warm-up for a rematch with Floyd Mayweather.
2. Prolific passers: The duel between Brady and Patrick Mahomes is the marquee attraction of the AFC Championship Game. Mahomes is the favorite for the league MVP and boasts one of the strongest arms in the NFL. He uses creative arm angles and can slip out of the pocket while keeping his eyes downfield to find targets who may have raced past coverage. Brady, on the other hand, is masterful in the pocket and – despite many claiming that his demise was coming soon – was clinical in a divisional-round thumping of the Chargers.
Here's everything you need to know for Sunday's NFC and AFC Championship Games:
Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints
Kickoff time: 3:05 p.m. ET
Channel: Fox
Streaming: Fox Sports Go
Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans
Line: Saints by 3
Injury report: With no players listed on the injury report, the Rams enter the game essentially at full strength. New Orleans, however, will be without wide receiver Keith Kirkwood, who is out with a calf injury. Saints tight end Benjamin Watson is listed as questionable, but an ESPN report said he was suffering from appendicitis and is expected to miss the game.
1. "Nice little bowl of gumbo": Just as in the AFC title game, the NFC Championship features two teams that met earlier in the regular season. In Week 9, the Rams went down to New Orleans and the Saints prevailed, 45-35. New Orleans raced out to a lead in the second quarter, but the Rams eventually knotted the game up with 21 unanswered points. Still, the Saints took the victory with a 10-point fourth quarter. Adding a little juice to the matchup with his remarks after that game, Rams cornerback Marcus Peters called out Saints coach Sean Payton for trash-talking him on the field and said, “We going to see him soon … and then we going to have a nice little bowl of gumbo together.” Peters gets his wish, but will any added motivation make a difference?
2. Turning defensive: New Orleans became known for its powerful offense in the first half of the season, but over the stretch run, it has been a smothering defense that has taken over. Since Week 7, the Saints have allowed opposing offenses to score just 16.9 points a game and have sacked opposing passers 28 times – and that’s without notching one against Nick Foles and the Eagles in the divisional round. In particular, the secondary has improved its play and shut down opposing passing attacks. Los Angeles’ offense, though, is the highest-scoring outfit the Saints will face since starting this run, so the challenge the Rams present – behind a healthy Todd Gurley – is significant.
New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) makes a catch and stiff arms Kansas City Chiefs free safety Ron Parker (38) in the second half at Gillette Stadium. (Photo: David Butler II, USA TODAY Sports)
New England Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs
Kickoff time: 6:40 p.m. ET
Channel: CBS
Streaming: CBS All Access
Location: Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City
Line: Chiefs by 3
Injury report: The Patriots have a clean bill of health, as defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr. was the only player listed on the team's injury report this week. The Chiefs are set to get a big boost with the expected return of safety Eric Berry, who has been sidelined with a heel injury. Linebacker Dorian O'Daniel has been ruled out with a knee ailment.
Three keys to the game (by Lorenzo Reyes)
1. Rematch: Anyone who tuned in for Week 6’s thrilling battle between these two teams – an eventual 43-40 Patriots victory – should be glad there’s another iteration of the matchup. It was a back-and-forth matchup with two ties and four lead changes. After the Chiefs tied the game with just more than three minutes to play on a 75-yard bomb to Tyreek Hill, the Pats fought back and kicked the 28-yard, game-winning field goal as time expired. That game earlier in the year was in Foxborough. This time it will be at Arrowhead, so the Chiefs may get a little boost from the home-field crowd in the first AFC title game hosted in Kansas City. One other interesting nugget: the last time the Pats played in Kansas City, it was the 2014 game – a 41-14 New England loss in Week 4 – after which many questioned whether Brady’s run as a dominant passer had come to an end.
DURHAM, N.C. -- Mike Krzyzewski has coached in five different decades, which has allowed him to sit courtside and watch literally the best players on the planet -- everybody from Michael Jordan to LeBron James, from Tim Duncan to Kobe Bryant. At this point, he's basically seen it all. And yet, by his own admission, Duke's Hall of Fame coach still finds himself, just like the rest of us, amazed by Zion Williamson.
"That move he made fullcourt when he dunked with the right hand -- holy mackerel," Krzyzewski said following Saturday's 72-70 win here inside Cameron Indoor Stadium that doubled as Virginia's first loss. "I thought he was going to lose the ball. And then ... boom. And ... boom. ... He's just a really unusually great player."
Have you seen that sequence yet?
If not, check it out ...
CBS Sports ✔@CBSSportsZION. YIKES.
Houston Rockets star James Harden may not have reached the 50-point mark for the third consecutive game on Saturday, but he came awfully close.
Harden helped the Rockets rally from a 21-point deficit against the Los Angeles Lakers to pull out a 138-134 victory in overtime. And it was another ridiculous performance out of the reigning NBA MVP.
His line: 48 points, 14-of-30 on field goals, 8-of-19 from three-point range, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals.
It marked the 19th consecutive game with 30-plus points for the NBA's leading scorer, a feat that ESPN Stats & Info notes puts Harden in exclusive company with Wilt Chamberlain.
Comments