Manny Pacquiao emerged victorious in his so-called rubber match with Tim Bradley at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, with all three judges scoring the contest 116-111.
In dealing with a world class and awkward opponent in Bradley, at the age of 37 and on the back of shoulder surgery, Pacquiao once again proved himself worthy of a place alongside boxing's pantheon of greats - defeat to Floyd Mayweather or not.
The Filipino icon runs for congress in his homeland this time next month, and in a year which has seen him receive enormous backlash for his comments on homosexuality he had always iterated that he intended to retire from the sport after his fight with Bradley.
The sense of mutual respect which usually accompanies the conclusion of such marathon boxing rivalries was evident in plain sight, as Bradley and Pacquiao went off on a tangent during Max Kellerman's post-fight interview, planning breakfast together at the Mandalay Bay the following morning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=14&v=IUfdGuBqwt4
For what it's worth, there's no way Pacquaio calls it a day after last night's performance; as the ever-astute Kellerman suggested during commentary last night - fighters usually only tend to walk away for good when people stop paying them good money.
The chance to defend his lineal welterweight championship - incidentally the record-breaking fifth lineal title of his career - as a congressman for the Philippines will likely prove too tempting, with potential bouts with Canelo and Mayweather being mooted by trainer Freddie Roach last month.
And while the casual observer may see Pac-Man's legacy as forever tarnished by his reprehensible comments in February, the more ardent boxing fan would point out that they've known of his religious beliefs for years but separated them from the phenomenal fighter Pacquiao went on to become - as one might with any other profession.
One man who certainly couldn't argue with that would be the iconic Jim Lampley of HBO - one of the great boxing connoisseurs of modern times - who blasted Pacquiao's comments mid-fight before tearing up as he bid the boxing legend farewell in his closing monologue.
Lampley starts the broadcast with "climax" and ends the night with tears. The man is a prophet. Thanks, jim. I needed that. Smoke?
— adam abramowitz (@snboxing) April 10, 2016
By the way, we hope you got on our weekend boxing accumulator - The Hookmaker.
