Manny Pacquiao holds his title belt.

Manny Pacquiao scored a unanimous decision win over Timothy Bradley to regain the WBO welterweight title on Saturday night and avenge a highly controversial loss to the American in June 2012.

Two judges scored the fight 116-112 for Pacquiao, while a third saw it as a 118-110 win for the Filipino.

In their previous fight, Bradley was awarded a split decision victory that many observers felt Pacquiao had won clearly.

“He threw a lot of punches and I didn’t want to be careless,” said Pacquiao.

“In the second half of the fight, I listened to my corner and they told me to work on the timing of my punches.”

The early rounds of the fight were explosive, with Pacquiao the aggressor and Bradley looking to land big counter right hands as the Filipino moved forward.

A wild third round saw both men exchanging vicious shots, a pair of lefts from Pacquiao being followed by an uppercut and a right hand from Bradley.

Through five, Bradley appeared to be on top and Pacquiao looked uncertain how to land cleanly without exposing himself.

In the sixth, however, the momentum shifted.

Bradley’s output suddenly dropped and Pacquiao adjusted his style to throw fast combinations.

The seventh may have been the Filipino’s most dominant round, as he pinned Bradley to the ropes and unleashed flurries.

Bradley continued to have his moments, notably in the ninth round when he landed some hard combinations to Pacquiao’s chin to stem the challenger’s assault, but his punches were more ragged and wild, while Pacquiao’s were shorter and sharper.