In what was called as "make or break" fight, Filipino boxer Manny "The Pacman" Pacquiao reclaimed his honor and his welterweight belt when he defeated American fighter Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley by unanimous decision.

Pacquiao squared off with Bradley on Saturday evening at the fully-packed MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, determined to reclaim glory after losing to the American pugilist two years ago.

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Judges scored 116-112, 118-110, and 116-112 for the Filipino boxer, giving Bradley his first loss in a long untainted career of 31 wins with 12 knockouts.

The veteran Pacquiao's score card has 38 knockouts, five losses and 56 wins.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Twenty four minutes past midnight, the two boxers started to step into the ring amidst deafening chants from mostly Pacquiao fans.

Both fighters started off round one being careful and measuring each other's form, but it went to Pacquiao since he had more hits on Bradley.

On round two, an aggressive Bradley started to show his jabs but twice nearly lost his footing in the ring. Pacquiao struck Bradley with several fast punches to the delight of the audience.

Round three again went in favor of Pacman with judges scoring 3-0, and by the fourth, Bradley was showing signs of frustration in the ring.

Round five, Bradley gave his hard punches and most number of connects.

The action heated up in round six as the two fighters danced around the ring but Bradley did most of the punching that Pacquiao successfully blocked, again giving this round to Pacquiao.

From rounds seven until the end of the match on round 12, the match scores were obviously favoring a more agile Pacquiao against a lot of missed punches by Bradley.

GLORIOUS VICTORY

The victory for Manny Pacquiao comes as a new lease on his boxing career after two losses in the last two years.

Going up the ring against Bradley and winning scores is a confirmation of his abilities despite the age.

In the 2012 match between the two, Bradley won by split decision, raising howls and protests from boxing aficionados calling the judges biased.

Pacquiao's return to form is expected to ramp up talks once again over a much-awaited encounter between him and the only remaining contender in his weight category, Floyd Mayweather, Jr.