LAS VEGAS _ Manny Pacquiao looked up to fight and glanced at ringside, where he locked eyes with his guest and rival Floyd Mayweather Jr., smiling and waving at the unbeaten, retired champion with his right glove.
Pacquiao then proceeded to decisively beat a champion in Jessie Vargas who's 10 years younger with other attributes that Pacquiao defused with his power, smarts and speed.
"Not bad," Mayweather told a reporter behind him, further fueling speculation that a rematch of the richest fight in history is coming in 2017.
A month shy of his 38th birthday, Pacquiao (59-6-2) did his part by beating Vargas (27-2) by scores of 115-113 (Carl Moretti), 118-109 (Glenn Feldman), 118-109 (Glenn Trowbridge).
Moretti unbelievably awarded Vargas five of the first six rounds.
"I'm so happy with my performance. I tried every round to knock him down," Pacquiao said. "I'll fight whoever the people want me to fight. I am not going to pick my opponent."
Pacquiao knocked down Vargas in the second round by striking Vargas on the nose with a left hand, and he challenged the power of the boastful Vargas, beating him to the punch with creative angles and faster hands.
"Fighting Manny Pacquiao is like playing a very fast game of chess," Vargas said. "You have to be alert at all times. There were a lot of punches coming in."
Pacquiao said he was thrilled with his showing, which in the 12th round looked a little bit as if he pulled a chapter from Mayweather's playbook by landing several punches and effectively retreating from right-handed Vargas punches that did land a few times.
Asked if he will fight Mayweather next, Pacquiao said, "We'll see."
His showing pleased his veteran trainer Freddie Roach, who watched Pacquiao balance a workload as a senator in the Philippines for six weeks during training camp before arriving in Hollywood to conclude preparations.
The victory gave record seven division world-champion Pacquiao the World Boxing Organization welterweight belt for a fourth time.
"I'm so proud of Manny," Roach said. "He had a killer schedule and only Manny could complete it."
Pacquiao proved elusive seven months after announcing his retirement, causing Vargas to land only 104 of 561 punches and 70 of 305 power punches.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao landed 101 of 212 power punches.
He nearly scored knockdowns again in the 11th and 12th, but referee Kenny Bayless ruled they were slips.
Earlier, Southern California-trained Oscar Valdez retained his WBO featherweight belt with a seventh-round knockout victory, Jessie Magdaleno won the WBO belt by decision over Nonito Donaire and China's Zou Shiming claimed the WBO flyweight belt by decision.
