By Chris Williams: Tim Bradley would like to see his recent conqueror Manny Pacquiao get a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr next year. Bradley not only thinks the fight should happen, but he also believes that it’s a 50-50 fight that can literally go either way.
Bradley looked confused and lost in losing to Pacquiao last April in their fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Bradley abandoned his boxing game in the 1st round and stood and slugged with Pacquiao for 12 rounds.
In hindsight, it’s pretty clear why Bradley lost the fight. He fought a completely different fight than he did from his first bout with Pacquiao in 2012 by electing to slug with him instead of using his jab and movement to outbox the aging Filipino star.
“Manny is definitely a big threat in the sport, still a top dog, and I think he will be a threat to Mayweather, I honestly do,” Bradley said via ESPN.com. “I think he can clip Mayweather. I think it’s a 50-50 fight, and I think it should happen. We have to wait and see if they can put it together. I think it makes sense. I think the fight does over 3 million pay-per-view buys, and it’s the fight that everybody wants to see, and I think it’s great for boxing.”
It’s hard to picture Mayweather-Pacquiao fight doing 3 million pay-per-view buys. That seems like dream stuff from Bradley. With Pacquiao drawing a rumored 300,000+ pay-per-view buys for his last fight against Chris Algieri last November, I would be surprised if a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight brought in even 2 million pay-per-view buys.
If Mayweather is pulling in the majority of the PPV buys, which is likely to happen, Pacquiao probably won’t be able to draw enough on his own to make the fight even close to the numbers that Bradley is talking about.
I think the only way a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight becomes a 50-50 affair is if Mayweather were to fight just like Bradley did in his second fight with Pacquiao by Mayweather choosing to stand perfectly still and not using his legs. But even under those circumstances, Mayweather would still have an advantage with his counter punching and defense.
I can’t see it as a 50-50 fight if Mayweather fights like he’s got both of his feet stuck in quick-drying cement the way that Bradley did in his rematch against Pacquiao.
Bradley isn’t saying why he wants to see the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight happen, but you’ve got to wonder if there’s an ulterior motive for him wanting to see the fight. Perhaps if Pacquiao gets a fight against Mayweather then it’s possible that Bradley feels that he could be in line in the future for a fight against Mayweather as well.
Comments are closed.