By Lavon E. Shepard: Should the Mayweather- Pacquiao negotiations fail yet again, 2012 may see Pacquiao taking on a young, hungry fighter in Timothy Bradley. The chances that Bradley, king of the 140lb division gets the nod are increasing, as both camps seem to be on different pages.

Pacquiao’s camp stating that talks are ongoing, while Mayweather’s denies ever having a conversation on the subject. With all the politics in boxing, who knows what’s really going on behind closed doors, but let’s examine the potential of a Pacquiao- Bradley matchup.

Manny Pacquiao considered the p4p best in the world is an aggressive fighter who throws punches in bunches from a lot of different angles on the outside, whose speed is second to none. Bradley in his own right is also aggressive and comes forward and has mastered an inside attack that has made him successful despite going into most of his matches as the smaller fighter. If these two champions were to get it on, the winner would no doubt be the fighter with the most heart who was able to adjust throughout the fight.

After a poor showing against Juan Manuel Marquez we may be witnessing the beginning of the end of a hall fame career for the ageing Pacquiao. If Marquez, nearing the end of his career could give the champ problems, rest assured a rising star like Bradley could deliver one of the biggest upsets in recent memory.

I could see the fight starting out with Pacquiao winning the early rounds with his aggression and work rate. Flashy combos and exciting exchanges would work out in Pacman’s favor due to his hand speed advantage. Nonetheless Tim, his will unmatched, would keep coming forward mixing body shots with hooks to the head, wearing Pacman down in the middle rounds. Towards the end of the fight conditioning will be the deciding factor, the victory going to whoever still has gas in the tank. For this reason Timothy Bradley would have a strong chance of upsetting Manny Pacquiao. If you know anything about boxing you know Tim is one of the best if not the best, conditioned athletes in sports and he comes on stronger in the later rounds due to the shape he’s always in.

That being said, I could the see the fight going to the scorecards and resulting in a split decision in Bradley’s favor. The difference between this fight and the Marquez fight, being Bradley doing enough in the judge’s eyes to take the title. Marquez is a counter puncher and Bradley is an aggressor that alone would change the outcome of the two fights. Some say Marquez won but at the end of the day Pacman was the champ, and JMM did not do enough to warrant a victory over the champ. They say styles make fights and this one would be an exciting affair with punches flying, possible knockdowns, and a nominee for fight of the year.

How real is the likelihood of this matchup? Freddie Roach said, “Mayweather is still the top choice but without him, Manny will probably go for Bradley.” Why Bradley over other possible opponents such as rematches with Miguel Cotto or Juan M Marquez, you ask. Well Roach states, “Probably Bradley because we’ve done the others.” There you have it, this may be the matchup we see for Pacquiao’s next outing we’ll just have to wait and see.