Pacquiao weathered an exciting start from the undefeated challenger in the opening two rounds and wore the American down throughout the middle portion of the contest and had Bradley seriously reeling after six.
Bradley would show great resilience and edge some of the later rounds after going back to basics and working the jab from distance, but there appeared to be no confusion amongst the live attendance or either camp as to who was the better man.
It came as a shock when the judges' scorecards all read 115 to 113 - with two of the three in favour of the new champion.
Bradley's performance would have no doubt raised his stock even in defeat, but the unexpected nod from the men in charge of the final outcome is destined to catapault 'Desert Storm' to even greater heights.
His first order of business could well be an immediate rematch: Pacquiao has a clause in the fight contract, and both fighters expressed a willingness to settle things once and for all in a return bout in their post-fight interviews.
"I’ve got to give Manny a rematch," Bradley admitted.
"I know the fans weren’t happy with the result and I’ve got to give Manny his chance to win the title back.
"I caught my second wind after the sixth round. I kept sticking and moving with my jab and caught him with clean shots.
"Manny is very fast and very hard but I have strong legs and my will to win prevailed.
"My corner told me that if I can win the last round, we will win the fight and that’s what we did."
Pacquiao drew some pre-fight controversy of his own by having the bell-time delayed courtesy of a previous agreement which would ensure he could watch the NBA Eastern Conference game seven between Boston Celtics and Miami Heat.
But the Filipino insisted the situation did not affect him, saying: "I was very warmed up as I headed into the ring and it was a good fight.
"I’m disappointed but he moves very well and he’s undefeated for a reason. I thought that I won the fight, though.
"I’ve been watching his fights and he’s an aggressive boxer, but he didn’t really hurt me. Most of his shots hit my arms. I don’t know what happened.
"I am willing to have a rematch, no problem. And if he’s ready to do it, credit to him."
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