Pacquiao-Bradley II is the smart move by Arum

By Boxing News - 07/05/2012 - Comments

Image: Pacquiao-Bradley II is the smart move by ArumBy Chris Williams: When you get a vehicle that’s starting to get old on you, you’ve got to take it easy on it otherwise you’re likely to be stuck on the road in the middle of nowhere. I see the same thing for Manny Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KO’s). The Filipino isn’t aging well at all.

He’s getting old as we saw in his loss to Tim Bradley last month and his promoter Bob Arum is going to need to take it easy with him if he wants to get as many miles as possible out of him. You can’t put in a new engine because Pacquiao is beyond that.

Arum has to match him carefully by keeping him away from certain fighters unless his idea is to cash out with him with one big payday. But I don’t see Arum doing that anytime soon. As such, I think it’s a wise move if Arum keeps Pacquiao away from Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Juan Manuel Marquez, and instead puts him back in with Bradley in a rematch.

That’s a tough fight for Pacquiao, and I suspect he’ll lose again. But with the boxing world crying about Pacquiao getting beaten by Bradley last month, I can see the judges willing to give Pacquiao the benefit of the doubt by giving him a decision even if he’s outworked in 90% of every round. I think Bradley may need a knockout to ensure that he beats Pacquiao a second time.

Arum really needs to forget all about putting Pacquiao back in with Marquez because that’s a big loss just waiting for the Filipino. I had Pacquiao losing their three previous fights, and it will be worse now that Pacquiao is starting to age. Arum should focus on putting Pacquiao in with the likes of Bradley and Paulie Malignaggi, and avoid Marquez, Mayweather, Kell Brook, Andre Berto or even Amir Khan. The way to get the most out of Pacquiao is to baby him by matching him as soft as possible to keep the gravy train moving along.



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