Charles Martin

By Todd Creel – Boxing fans, we have ahead of us an entertaining weekend inside the ring. There are some interesting match-ups scheduled, including a few title bouts, a fight between two pound-for-pound ranked pugilists, and some entertaining regional scraps (in the Washington D.C. Area at least). Let’s take a few minutes to have an unbiased look at some of these.

At the top of the list, we have a match that has been discussed ad nauseam. I am of course referring to the third fight in the trilogy between Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao and Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley. Regardless of anyone’s opinion on the first two fights, we enter this bout with a record split with one win a piece. The winner of this one will, on paper, walk away with the bragging rights. This is an intriguing bout, bringing with it a few questions needing to be answered. Bradley is now training with the veteran Teddy Atlas. This will be a defining bout for the pair, as a clear win will prove that the addition of Atlas has brought Bradley’s game up a notch. Will having Atlas in his corner give Bradley the edge in this third installment? On Pacquiao’s end, we have the tried and true trainer Freddie Roach. Roach has prepared Manny for numerous fights, and judging by pictures and videos, Pacquiao appears to be in excellent condition. However Pac-Man has been in a great many entertaining fights and wars that may have taken their toll. In any case, this fight has the potential to be a memorable one as neither fighter is known for backing down.

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