Manny Pacquiao will fight against Timothy Bradley for the 3rd time on April 9th, 2016 at MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Bradley won the fitst fight from a controversial decision which was the reason for their rematch on 2014. But Pacquiao won that second fight without controversy. That makes them 1-1 and whoever win the 3rd fight will stay ahead. Rumors say that Manny Pacquiao’s will retire from boxing and this match will be his last fight and he looks for a knockout. The last fight that he won via knockout was 16 months ago against Chris Algieri.
Honestly, it’s not as bad of a fight as one may think. Even though Pacquiao has been the dominant fighter in their previous meetings, there are still questions considering how poor he looked against Mayweather and how brilliant Bradley looked in his stoppage of Brandon Rios in November. Obviously, it’s difficult to put a value on Bradley’s victory when considering that Rios may have been shopworn heading into that fight. Nevertheless, Bradley looked rejuvenated with the legendary Teddy Atlas in his corner, as he starched Rios and earned a ninth-round TKO. Meanwhile, there are questions looming as to how Pacquiao will perform, as he will be just a few months removed from shoulder surgery -- the culprit in his lack of output against Mayweather in their mega-fight turned mega-dud.
You can easily make the argument that Pacquiao-Bradley 3 is better business for Top Rank CEO Bob Arum than Pacquiao-Crawford since Crawford has yet to make his mark as a major draw. More importantly, it would be tough sledding for Arum if he were to decide to pit his new star against his old superstar. Simply put, Pacquiao-Crawford was a no-win situation for Arum. If Pacquiao were to win, Arum would be left without a star, as Crawford’s perfect record would be blemished and Pacquiao would be leaving the sport. If Crawford were to win, it would be a tragic ending to Pacquiao’s career. Nobody really wants to see Pacquiao lose his last fight, especially Arum. Instead, a third fight with Bradley is the safer bet. There’s a built-in story with the two fighters splitting the series. Bradley is the more established boxer, even though neither he nor Crawford is a significant draw on his own. We’re not even sure how Crawford would fare against the awkward Pacquiao. Better to be safe than sorry, and put Pacquiao in a fight he can win.
However, there’s reason to believe this could be one hell of a fight, considering that Pacquiao is supposed to be trending downward and Bradley’s arrow is pointing north. The two are familiar with each other, and the chatter between trainers Atlas and Freddie Roach could provide an extra boost to the marketability of the fight. There’s no doubt that Atlas will put together an excellent game plan for his fighter against Pacquiao. It will simply be a matter of whether Bradley will be able to execute on April 9. Roach will have to figure out whether Bradley is truly an improved fighter or if his development was more pronounced by Rios being an overcooked opponent who simply needed a nudge out of the door.
Bradley won the fitst fight from a controversial decision which was the reason for their rematch on 2014. But Pacquiao won that second fight without controversy. That makes them 1-1 and whoever win the 3rd fight will stay ahead. Rumors say that Manny Pacquiao’s will retire from boxing and this match will be his last fight and he looks for a knockout. The last fight that he won via knockout was 16 months ago against Chris Algieri.
Honestly, it’s not as bad of a fight as one may think. Even though Pacquiao has been the dominant fighter in their previous meetings, there are still questions considering how poor he looked against Mayweather and how brilliant Bradley looked in his stoppage of Brandon Rios in November. Obviously, it’s difficult to put a value on Bradley’s victory when considering that Rios may have been shopworn heading into that fight. Nevertheless, Bradley looked rejuvenated with the legendary Teddy Atlas in his corner, as he starched Rios and earned a ninth-round TKO. Meanwhile, there are questions looming as to how Pacquiao will perform, as he will be just a few months removed from shoulder surgery -- the culprit in his lack of output against Mayweather in their mega-fight turned mega-dud.
You can easily make the argument that Pacquiao-Bradley 3 is better business for Top Rank CEO Bob Arum than Pacquiao-Crawford since Crawford has yet to make his mark as a major draw. More importantly, it would be tough sledding for Arum if he were to decide to pit his new star against his old superstar. Simply put, Pacquiao-Crawford was a no-win situation for Arum. If Pacquiao were to win, Arum would be left without a star, as Crawford’s perfect record would be blemished and Pacquiao would be leaving the sport. If Crawford were to win, it would be a tragic ending to Pacquiao’s career. Nobody really wants to see Pacquiao lose his last fight, especially Arum. Instead, a third fight with Bradley is the safer bet. There’s a built-in story with the two fighters splitting the series. Bradley is the more established boxer, even though neither he nor Crawford is a significant draw on his own. We’re not even sure how Crawford would fare against the awkward Pacquiao. Better to be safe than sorry, and put Pacquiao in a fight he can win.
However, there’s reason to believe this could be one hell of a fight, considering that Pacquiao is supposed to be trending downward and Bradley’s arrow is pointing north. The two are familiar with each other, and the chatter between trainers Atlas and Freddie Roach could provide an extra boost to the marketability of the fight. There’s no doubt that Atlas will put together an excellent game plan for his fighter against Pacquiao. It will simply be a matter of whether Bradley will be able to execute on April 9. Roach will have to figure out whether Bradley is truly an improved fighter or if his development was more pronounced by Rios being an overcooked opponent who simply needed a nudge out of the door.
