By Chris Williams: WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs) doesn’t believe that he’s the same fighter now that he was in his first two fights against superstar Manny Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs). Bradley, 32, is now trained by ESPN analyst Teddy Atlas and he believes that the smooth talking Atlas has improved him and changed his fighting style to make him a better fighter.
Unfortunately, Bradley doesn’t look any better than he ever was in the past. We saw him almost get knocked out by the light hitting Jessie Vargas last year in June, and he hasn’t fought anyone that you can call a good fighter since his loss to Pacquiao in 2014.
“The fact that I have new trainer that places a big change on my approach to this fight so you can’t really look at the other two (fights). That’s completely different,” Bradley said to mb.com.ph. “I won’t be the same fighter. I think that’s the point everybody wanted to see. They want to see Manny in his last fight and see if Manny would be successful.”
Like a lot of fighters hoping to improve by switching trainers, Bradley believes that he’s a different fighter and has improved with Atlas as his trainer. The evidence doesn’t bear that out. Bradley is the same fighter, but with a different trainer.
Unless Teddy Atlas can bestow punching power in Bradley’s body, he’s not going to be any different than he ever was before. The only thing that can be different in the third fight between Pacquiao and Bradley is the possibility of the 37-year-old Pacquiao having aged enough for Bradley to maybe beat him. If not, then Bradley will lose once again and boxing fans will probably be upset at themselves for having paid $70 to watch the fight on HBO PPV, especially if Bradley uses a lot of movement like he did in his first fight with Pacquiao in 2012.
“He [Pacquiao] says this will be his last but this won’t be my last,” Bradley said. “I don’t think this will be his last but it’ll depend on the outcome.”
Bradley could wind up getting a fourth fight against Pacquiao if he beats him on April 9. It’s hard to imagine Pacquiao wasting his career fighting Bradley four times, but he’s had limited options in terms of high caliber opponents to fight with Top Rank. I guess that’s why we’ve seen so many rematches with Pacquiao fighting guys like Juan Manuel Marquez 4 times, Erik Morales 3 times, and Marco Antonio Barrera 2 times.
It’s possible that Pacquiao will continue his boxing career if he loses the fight. I can’t imagine for a second that Pacquiao would go out on a loss rather than a win. If he loses to Bradley, Pacquiao will almost surely look to avenge the loss later on this year in a second fight. Then there’s always the chance of Floyd Mayweather Jr. making a comeback.
If Mayweather comes out of retirement and says he wants Pacquiao, then you can bet that fight will happen. Mayweather is the one that’s calling the shots. Pacquiao will just n eed to wait and see when or if Mayweather is going to return to the ring to resume his career. When that happens, Pacquiao will possibly be someone that Mayweather looks for as an opponent.
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