By Chris Williams: After having faced former eight division world champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) two times previously and made his fortune from those two fights, Tim “Desert Storm” Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs) says he doesn’t care that Pacquiao is on the verge of retiring after their third fight on April 9.
Bradley is only focused on winning that fight and moving on to the next hurdle in his successful career.
Bradley and Pacquiao knotted at 1-1 in their rivalry, and the two of them will be looking to find out who the superior fighter is between them in their rubber match on HBO pay-per-view from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“’I don’t know and honestly I don’t really care,” Bradley said when asked if he thinks Pacquiao will be retiring after their fight next month.
There is speculation that the 37-year-old Pacquiao could choose to continue his boxing career if he loses the election in the Philippines in May. Pacquiao is running for a senate seat, and his poll numbers are reportedly down since his recent comments about gays. Pacquiao has said previously that he wouldn’t have enough time to continue his boxing career if he gets elected into the senate. If he loses the election, then the excuse about not having time to focus on the sport will be out the window.
If Pacquiao still wants to retire, then he’ll need to come up with another reason. Perhaps Pacquiao isn’t all that interested in fighting any longer, or maybe, like some fans believe, he doesn’t fancy facing Top Rank fighter Terence Crawford. Who knows? We’re going to find out soon if Pacquiao fails to get elected in May. If Pacquiao does resume his pro career and says no to the Crawford fight, I’m sure his promoter Bob Arum will be eager to put him in with his fighter WBO 147lb champion Jessie Vargas or have him fight Bradley for a fourth time depending on what kind of PPV numbers their fight on April 9 brings in.
Pacquiao will make Arum a very happy man if he chooses to continue. Bradley might not be saying it now, but I’m sure he’ll be happy too, because Arum could wind up keeping the Pacquiao-Bradley rivalry going if for no other reason that he doesn’t have many other options for in house fights.
Pacquiao’s surgically repaired shoulder is said to be 100 percent now after a long rest and a period of rehabilitation. Pacquiao previously said he used sea water to help heal the torn rotator cuff. That’s an interesting cure. I’m sure a lot of baseball pitchers will like to try that home remedy out to see if they can save their pitching arms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01XZv-2Mhx0
“In the first two weeks of our training, we used (the shoulder), punching hard,” said Pacquiao to the latimes.com. “I’ve rested for almost a full year. It motivated me, and my body feels good, almost like I’m starting in boxing,” he said.
Pacquiao is supposedly completely healed and like a new fighter. We’ll find out if that’s the case on April 9 when he gets inside the ring with Bradley. If Pacquiao is healed, then he should be able to beat Bradley. If he’s not, then I suppose he’ll wind up fighting with one arm and losing the fight.
If Pacquiao starts with the shoulder injury excuses after the fight, he’s going to turn off a lot of fans, because the last thing they want to hear is Pacquiao bringing up injuries after the fight. The fans, especially the bettors, would like to know about Pacquiao’s injuries before the fight so that they can make adjustments in who they feel is going to win the fight.
If Pacquiao’s surgically repaired right shoulder isn’t 100% like we’ve been hearing, then that’s going to upset a lot of fans. Pacquiao will likely burn bridges in a major way if that happens. I think a lot of fans are going to be mistrustful of Pacquiao no matter what happens in the fight. It’s hard for fans to let go when they’ve been burned like they were last May for the overpriced Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. bout.
“I’ll give him rest with only eight rounds against the four (sparring partners) in the next three days,” said Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach via spin.ph. “Manny looks like he’s still suffering from jet-lag and needs some respite after that long trip from Manila.”
Hopefully this isn’t going to be a problem for Pacquiao. If he continues to be worn down in the next month, it might be bad for him when he gets inside the ring on 4/9 with Bradley and isn’t the 100 percent that the fans were hoping for.
Comments are closed.