By Chris Williams: WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao’s helper Buboy Fernandez doesn’t see Timothy Bradley making it the full 12 rounds against Pacquiao next month in their clash at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 9th.

Although Buboy isn’t any kind of expert on boxing, he chimed in with his thoughts to the Manila Bulletin, saying “I can’t imagine how this fight will go 12 rounds. If ever this fight goes 12, I am sure Bradley will be just like [Miguel] Cotto and this fight won’t even be close. Bradley hasn’t fought a tough fighter of Pacquiao’s caliber and he will be surprised to see how an elite fighter like Manny does in the ring.”

I think Buboy needs to leave the predictions and fight analysis to the experts, because I think think he has a clue what he’s talking about. Bradley has fought fighters in Pacquiao’s talent range and he’s done well against them. What Buboy doesn’t understand is that Pacquiao has slipped a couple of notches for whatever reason. Whether it be age or too many wars, he’s definitely slipped and he’s now vulnerable to getting beaten. He already is coming off of a fight that many people think he lost last November against Juan Manuel Marquez. I imagine Buboy was thinking that Marquez would be out of his class as well.

That’s the problem for people that are too close and can’t step back and see how Pacquiao’s skills are eroding. Pacquiao’s last four fights against Marquez, Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito and Joshua Clottey have been awful fights, and not even close to being impressive. It’s one thing to have a poor performance in one fight, but when you look poor in FOUR CONSECUTIVE FIGHTS, it’s telling you that there’s something going on there.

I think it’s at the terminal stage with Pacquiao, and he can’t go back to what he was in the past. Too many wars, too many head shots, and too much aging has gone on with the Filipino. So when Buboy is talking about Bradley not being able to make it to the 12th round against Pacquiao, he’s talking about a Pacquiao that no longer exists. That Pacquiao is gone forever. What’s left is aging fighter that is no longer knocking anyone out.