Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/news-special2/nation/11/06/20161106-pacquiao-vargas-afp-6.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines lands a right to the head of Jessie Vargas during their WBO welterweight championship fight at the Thomas &amp; Mack Center on November 5, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. <cite>Christian Petersen/Getty Images/AFP</cite></div></figcaption></figure></div><p>(<strong>UPDATED</strong>) Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao made history anew as he became the first active senator to win a world boxing championship.</p><p>The 37-year-old Pacquiao, who was elected a member of the Senate last May, overpowered the younger Jessie Vargas in 12 rounds, showed off his still remarkable speed and accuracy and flashed his punching power in front of a sellout crowd at the Thomas &amp; Mack Center in Las Vegas on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).</p><p>The &quot;Pacman&quot; was looking to end a knockout drought that dated all the way back to 2009 but had to settle for flooring Vargas once en route to a unanimous decision victory.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Man Down...<br/><br/>Knockdown comes in the 2nd round. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamLegend?src=hash">#TeamLegend</a> <a href="https://t.co/tDYS1MFwdX">pic.twitter.com/tDYS1MFwdX</a></p>— Manny Pacquiao (@MannyPacquiaoTR) <a href="https://twitter.com/MannyPacquiaoTR/status/795120980465053696">November 6, 2016</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script><p>Judges scored the bout 114-113, 118-109, and 118-109, all for Pacquiao who saw his record improve to 59 wins with six losses and two draws.</p><p>Vargas, making the first defense of the title that he won back in March, was a game opponent, but was simply unable to match Pacquiao&#x27;s firepower and found that even his vaunted right hand had little effect on the challenger.</p><p>It was only the second loss of Vargas&#x27; career against 27 victories.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/boxing/news/2016/11/06/donaire-falls-short-still-unbeaten-magdaleno-17599">READ: Nonito Donaire falls short against still unbeaten Jessie Magdaleno</a></li></ul><p>&quot;I&#x27;m happy,&quot; Pacquiao said after the bout. &quot;I&#x27;m trying every round to knock him down, that&#x27;s why I&#x27;m always aggressive, but not careless. I&#x27;m very careful to go inside, because I know he will counter me.&quot;</p><p>It was an impressive victory for Pacquiao, who briefly retired after beating Timothy Bradley Jr. back in April, only to make a quick comeback months later, citing a still burning passion for the sport and a desire to make history – which he did decisively.</p><p>The win came in front of a crowd of over 16,000 fans, which included Pacquiao&#x27;s longtime rival, retired American Floyd Mayweather Jr. who afterwards congratulated the Filipino star for his win.</p><p>Accompanying Pacquiao into the ring were Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach and Philippine National Police chief Dir. Gen. Roland &quot;Bato&quot; dela Rosa.</p><div><strong>Second round knockdown</strong></div><p>A slow first round ended in a flurry, with Vargas landing a series of punches in the final ten seconds only for Pacquiao to come back with a short uppercut that snapped the champion&#x27;s head back as the bell rang.</p><p>The second round was clearly Pacquiao&#x27;s, as he landed a left straight flush to Vargas&#x27; face that sent the Mexican-American fighter to the canvas with 27 seconds to go. It was a good display for the Filipino star, who blocked Pacquiao&#x27;s jab before unleashing a rapid-fire counter that Vargas did not see coming.</p><p>Vargas beat the count, but the knockdown clearly fired up Pacquiao. The &quot;Pacman&quot; came out even more aggressively in the third round, and hurt the champion anew with stinging right jabs. Vargas, for his part, missed wildly with his hooks, though he landed a good right hand late in the right.</p><p>The right side of Vargas&#x27; face began to swell by the fifth round, as Pacquiao&#x27;s heavy jab found its target repeatedly. The champion&#x27;s best round was the sixth, when he landed a right hook that clearly hurt Pacquiao and forced the Filipino to step back for a moment.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Straight down the pipe.<br/><br/>Manny Pacquiao&#x27;s jab splitting the guard of Vargas. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamLegend?src=hash">#TeamLegend</a> <a href="https://t.co/r2uMbkOhzT">pic.twitter.com/r2uMbkOhzT</a></p>— Manny Pacquiao (@MannyPacquiaoTR) <a href="https://twitter.com/MannyPacquiaoTR/status/795123827554402304">November 6, 2016</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script><p>Unfortunately for Vargas, he was unable to build on the punch, as Pacquiao came back with more firepower of his own, including a left straight to the face of the champion.</p><p>Vargas had to have his right eye treated ahead of the seventh round, but he endured even more punishment as a short, sharp punch from Pacquiao opened up another cut on his head midway through the eighth round. The &quot;Pacman,&quot; smelling blood, unleashed several unanswered punches, though Vargas was able to survive.</p><p>Pacquiao tried to hunt for a knockout in the final three rounds, and Vargas twice went down but was ruled slips in both instances.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Pinpoint Accuracy.<br/><br/>Pacquiao putting together a performance proving that age is nothing but a number. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamLegend?src=hash">#TeamLegend</a> <a href="https://t.co/oa7IQNAfq3">pic.twitter.com/oa7IQNAfq3</a></p>— Manny Pacquiao (@MannyPacquiaoTR) <a href="https://twitter.com/MannyPacquiaoTR/status/795127406478561280">November 6, 2016</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script><p>&quot;I felt like I can do more,&quot; Pacquiao said. &quot;But my aim every round was to knock him out.&quot;</p><p>Vargas, who entered the fight brimming with confidence, was gracious in defeat though he maintained it was a &quot;very close fight.&quot;</p><p>&quot;It was a chess match, back and forth. We were on our toes trying to catch each other,&quot; Vargas explained. &quot;His speed surprised me at the beginning.&quot;</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/news-special2/nation/11/06/20161106-pacquiao-vargas-afp-14.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines exits the arena after his unanimous-decision victory over Jessie Vargas at the Thomas &amp; Mack Center on November 5, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. <cite>Christian Petersen, Getty Images/AFP</cite></div></figcaption></figure></div><div><strong>What&#x27;s next?</strong></div><p>Prior to the bout, Pacquiao said that no matter what happened, he will return to the Philippines in order to fulfill his duties as a senator and he doubled-down on that commitment after his victory. &quot;I&#x27;m going back to the Senate,&quot; he said.</p><p>As for his boxing career, Pacquiao was non-committal.</p><p>&quot;I don&#x27;t know. Whoever the people want me to fight,&quot; he said in an interview immediately after the fight. &quot;I&#x27;m not picking any opponent or choosing any opponent. Whoever my promoter gives me, I will fight.&quot;</p><p>Mayweather reportedly gave a thumbs-up after the bout and told boxing media that the fight was &quot;not bad,&quot; although he did not give an interview. The American boxer recently said that the door remains open for him to make a comeback, but as for now, he does not miss the sport that made him the richest athlete in the world.</p><p>For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/" target="_blank"><strong>ABS-CBN Sports website</strong></a>.</p>

<p>(UPDATED) Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao made history anew as he became the first active senator to win a world boxing championship.</p>

(UPDATED) Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao made history anew as he became the first active senator to win a world boxing championship.

Pacquiao is new welterweight champ

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Pacquiao is new welterweight champ

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 06, 2016 01:10 PM PHT

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Updated Nov 06, 2016 01:55 PM PHT

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Manny Pacquiao

Jessie Vargas

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