By Keith Idec

LAS VEGAS – Manny Pacquiao expected Adrien Broner to throw more punches.

Who doesn’t, right?

Nevertheless, Pacquiao altered his strategy during their 12-round, 147-pound title fight Saturday night once it became evident Pacquiao would need to initiate the action on a consistent basis. Pacquiao discussed during their post-fight press conference how switching approaches during their fight helped him win a unanimous decision and retain his WBA world welterweight title at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

“I think aggressiveness,” Pacquiao said in reference to what worked well for him in beating Broner. “But we’re both counter-punchers. Our strategy for this fight is to counter-punch. So, I was surprised he didn’t throw a lot of punches [at] me. He was waiting for me. I needed to throw a lot of punches. Our strategy for this fight is to counter. That’s what we did [in training camp]. But since that’s his style, also, we made adjustments with [co-trainer] Buboy [Fernandez].”

Judges Tim Cheatham (116-112), Glenn Feldman (116-112) and Dave Moretti (117-111) favored Pacquiao’s activity and accuracy, and each of them scored him a convincing victor in their Showtime Pay-Per-View main event. Pacquiao buzzed Broner badly during the seventh and ninth rounds, but the Filipino southpaw couldn’t finish off Broner, who held and moved his way out of trouble both times.

Cincinnati’s Broner (33-4-1, 24 KOs, 1 NC) threw a mere 295 punches during their 12-round fight, just 25.6 punches per round. Pacquiao (61-7-2, 39 KOs) threw almost twice as many punches (112-of-568) and connected on more than twice the amount of shots Broner landed (50).

Pacquiao, 40, still applauded the 29-year-old Broner’s capabilities during their post-fight press conference at MGM Grand.

“Like I said over and over again, Adrien Broner is a good boxer,” Pacquiao said. “He’s fast, he moves fast, he’s a former champion. He’s the kind of fighter you cannot underestimate. You cannot take him lightly. I told you, he was giving me a hard time for this fight. So, I respect his style and team for giving a good fight tonight.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.