By Reginald Roberts: By now everyone on the planet knows about the extremely controversial finish to the June 9th showdown between pound 4 pound king Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley. We all know Pac man was robbed out of the decision victory. Remember years ago it wouldn’t have gone to the judges.

Remember the good old days when Manny was “The Destroyer”? He was an unstoppable, relentless, fighting machine. Score cards didn’t matter because his fist did the judging.

Sadly, in his last few fights he appeared to be slowing down. I know everyone’s saying, “Pacquiao’s getting old” or “Manny’s battle worn”. My personal opinion is that he’s just bored. That fight with Bradley was just horrible! Yes Manny deserved the victory but he really wasn’t trying. That in itself proves my point completely.

Pacquiao’s level of competition has dropped over the years, but that’s because he beat every relevant fighter in the game already. Coming up he destroyed great fighters like Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, and to a far lesser extent David Diaz. He retired The Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and The Hit man Ricky Hatton. That’s the Mexicutioner and that’s the Destroyer. That’s the icon that captured championships in eight weight classes. But that guy hasn’t been seen lately. His last three fights were very lack lustered.

He didn’t finish an aging Shane Mosley because he decided to carry him. He didn’t beat Juan Manuel Marquez like everyone thought he would. But to his defense Pacquiao has never beaten Marquez, nor has he ever been beaten by Marquez. Forget what the score cards and record books say, Pacquiao and Marquez fought to a draw three times. No matter how many times they fight they’re always going to fight to a draw. Manny and Marquez are perfect for each other, so there will never be a decisive winner between the two.

So what’s the reason behind the weak showing against Bradley? I say it’s Pacquiao’s lack of drive. He knew Bradley wasn’t in his league. There aren’t any fighters left in his league but one, Floyd Mayweather. The only guy left for “the Destroyer” to destroy is his ultimate rival for pound 4 pound supremacy and that fight will never happen.

“Money May” always seems to come up with some excuse as to why he won’t fight Pacquiao and that’s never going to change. Being that the epic super fight will never happen, the Pride of the Philippines is stuck fighting opponents that he easily out classes. Even so, I know he could have picked a more deserving warrior than Timothy Bradley. I mean come on now, he could’ve fought Amir Khan, Victor Ortiz, or Andre Berto. Heck, Zab Judah would’ve been a far better choice than “The Desert Storm”.

Sadly, at the end of the day as long as Manny Pacquiao isn’t being challenged he isn’t going to fight hard. He’s at the top of the sport so no matter who he fights he makes money. Plus now he has nothing left to prove. If Floyd Mayweather steps up to the plate and fights, we’ll see Pacquiao the Destroyer at least one last time. However until then, we’re stuck with Manny the Fighting Congressman and the halfhearted effort he brings to the ring.