Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley: Why This Is The Fight That No One Cares About

By Boxing News - 01/10/2016 - Comments

1-MAYPAC WEIGH IN-TRAPPFOTOS-3699By Matthew J. Hunter: As reported December 30th, 2015 by the Manila Times by Bob Arum, “It’s a done deal and it’s going to be a third fight against Timothy Bradley. We took a lot of consideration knowing Bradley has improved a lot as a fighter since the last time they’ve met in 2014.”

The second best fighter of this generation has the stage and his dance partner set for the April 9th showdown on HBO PPV. It will complete the series between these two boxers as they both have a win apiece.

Pacquiao is coming back from shoulder surgery and the biggest fight of his career, the loss to Mayweather last May. Bradley is coming off a brilliant performance against brawler Brandon Rios and stopped him in the 9th round. On the surface, there seem to be plenty of storylines for this crossroads of a boxing match. So why is it that when it was announced, the boxing community groaned in dissatisfaction?

The most obvious reason is that while officially the series is 1-1, most people felt Pacquiao won both fights handily. In most fans’ minds, and especially the casual fan, why would they want to spend money on a fight they’ve seen twice and thought the same guy won? With Bradley moving to new trainer, Teddy Atlas, and based on his performance against Rios, this could be a different fight entirely. Bradley’s increased footwork to create angles and slide out to the side to unload a combination. His ability to turn Rios in the direction he wanted was superb. However Bradley is on the downhill slide in his career, due to all of the wars and punishment he’s taken. So the question is, how many new tricks can Atlas teach an old dog?

Meanwhile, Pacquiao will return April 9th after an 11-month absence from the ring, and shoulder surgery. The real question for him is, what version of Pacquaio will show up this April? The last time fans saw “Pacman” grace the ring was in “The Fight of the Century” against Floyd Mayweather. It was anything but that moniker. The fight was slow and uneventful. Pacquaio looked tentative throughout and never even threw a jab let alone his piston-like left hand.

What about the unlucky boxers who missed the last golden ticket of the Mayweather/Pacquiao era? Would they have been more interesting fights to make? Terence Crawford is the young 140lb. champ who seems to have the technical ability to take over the vacant throne of boxing’s top attraction. Under the same promotional umbrella as Pacquiao, and the obvious push from Top Rank, all signs pointed to that fight being billed as the aging star against the young lion. However Pacquiao turned that fight down and now Crawford is set against journeyman Hank Lundy.

Then there is Al Haymon’s boxer’s Adrien Broner and Amir Khan, which could be the sole reason these boxers didn’t get the fight. Khan is a top 10 welterweight with blistering hand speed to possibly overwhelm the dynamo that is Pacquiao. Khan’s chin issues could have led to the first Pacquiao knockout since he bombarded Miguel Cotto. After two years of running after a Mayweather fight and now with Pacquiao turning him down, it seems that Khan possibly wasted two years of his prime, chasing fighters who wanted nothing to do with him.

The curious case of Adrien Broner was also flirted with as a potential dance partner. That fight had the most storylines possible, and if it wasn’t Pacquaio’s last fight, it could have led to the biggest possible match out there. Depending who you ask, it could be billed as Pacquaio coming for revenge against Mayweather by taking on his star pupil. Or perhaps, more complex but fruitful, is the story-line of Broner trying to out-do his estranged mentor now possible rival Mayweather by beating Pacquaio in a more impressive way than Mayweather had. Broner has the power and hand speed to take out Pacquaio, while also having mental lapses in the middle of a fight that veterans like Pacquaio and head trainer Freddie Roach can take advantage of in the ring. If Pacquaio won, he could position himself for another fight with the retired Mayweather. That is something no other opponent brings to the table.

So is Bradley the equal to Mayweather’s Andre Berto? Not even close. Bradley at one point was just behind Mayweather and Pacquiao in the rankings. The man is multiple division champion. He has only lost to Pacquiao. He looks to be rejuvenated under Teddy Atlas. Pacquaio could feasibly lose this fight and it wouldn’t be a shock to the boxing community as it would have been if Berto beat Mayweather. Bradley just brings nothing to the table when compared to how much more money and potential for opportunities a win over a Crawford, Khan, and Broner brings.

However boxing fans just witnessed the greatest of this generation go out on a low note, against an opponent the casual audience didn’t know and who wasn’t thought of as a challenge. Even though Bradley is a great boxer, he isn’t a star. Bradley has all the tools to beat a shadow of himself in Pacquiao. It just feels as if he is playing it safe. There are more dangerous and lucrative fights to end a career on. While some may point to a comeback from surgery and a loss deserving of a softer touch or tune-up, that has never been Pacquaio’s way.

When fans criticized Mayweather for not fighting Margarito and Miguel Cotto in his prime, Pacquiao fought Cotto three years before Mayweather did and beat Margarito. Pacquiao is the man who amazed fans with wars against Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera, and Erik Morales, which solidified him as the cult hero and the antithesis to Money May. We saw one great boxer go out on a whimper this past year, and now we are seeing another great boxer let the fans down. Pacquiao will always be a great and a first ballot Hall of Famer, but he had so much potential for his possible last fight to give it up on a nonsensical fight.



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