By Chris Williams: I wonder how WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley is feeling right about now after learning that his promoter Bob Arum thinks that Manny Pacquiao won the fight, and is asking for a big investigation find out why the fight was scored the way it was by the judges. Arum is clearly showing support for Pacquiao, and it must make Bradley feel kind out in the cold.
Arum thinks the judges made a big mistake by giving the fight to Bradley. I don’t know how long Bradley’s contract is with Arum, but if my promoter was openly backing another fighter in the same stable as me after I beat him, I would be looking for a way out of the contract. I think Arum needs to be a little more subtle here, because he could be burning bridges with his own fighter. I don’t know about you, but I think Bradley is going to be around a lot longer than Pacquiao.
Three years from now do you honestly see Pacquiao still fighting at a high level? I don’t. He’s already showing serious signs of deterioration in his game. All Bradley did was expose that by using a little movement. Can you imagine how Pacquiao will look in three years? He’ll only be 36, but I don’t think it’ll be a young 36. In that same time, Bradley will only be 31, and still at the top of his game.
Bradley is going to be a top fighter in the game for a long time. I can’t say the same for Pacquiao. I think he’s on his way out. I guess Arum string it out a little while longer by matching him against some of his table fighters, but even those guys will trouble Pacquiao if he keeps aging like this. Pacquiao hasn’t knocked anyone out in three years. You think it’s an accident? He’s slowing down. We can can see that clearly by looking at how he plodded around the ring against Bradley. If you compare that to Pacquiao’s performance against Miguel Cotto from three years ago, you’ll be shocked. Pacquiao was so much faster – both on his feet and with his hands.
Pacquiao arguably should have lost his fight against Juan Manuel Marquez last November, and now this fight with Bradley. You put Pacquiao back in with Marquez, and you’ll likely see Pacquiao get exposed again. Sure, the judges can give it to Pacquiao, but if he appears to have lost, it won’t help the guy.
If I was Arum, I’d be slathering on the compliments on Bradley 24/7, and I wouldn’t say a word about the judges decision. I’d just say ‘that’s how it goes.’ Bradley is the guy that’s going to be around, not Pacquiao. He’s the one that Arum should be stroking right now.
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