Pacquiao vs. Bradley analysis, and more!

Manny PacquiaoBy Ross Walker: In what has been declared as Manny Pacquiao’s final fight of his illustrious career, the modern-day boxing legend is said to face one of three prospective opponents. The indications are that one of Terence Crawford, Timothy Bradley or Amir Khan will receive the honor of facing Pac-Man.

The decision was supposed to be announced on two separate occasions but has thus far remained un-announced. The apparent reason for the delay is rumored to be due to a lack of agreement between the Pacquiao camp and promoter Bob Arum. One would have to assume that Manny is consulting with members of his vast entourage which includes his family, advisor (Michael Koncz), promoter Bob Arum and of course his trainer, Freddie Roach.

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Ellerbe: Mayweather will KO Pacquiao

ellerbeBy Chris Williams: Manny Pacquiao’s chances of making it the full 12 rounds against Floyd Mayweather Jr on May 2nd are too good, according to Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe. He feels that the 36-year-old Pacquiao makes too many mistakes during his fights, and these mistakes are going to lead him to getting knocked out by Mayweather at some point along the way.

Ellberbe doesn’t see the fight as one where Pacquiao will get blasted out immediately by Mayweather, but nonetheless, Pacquiao will be going down on the canvas sooner or later.

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Pacquiao with odd choice of sparring partner in using Dashon Johnson

pac564By Chris Williams: Manny Pacquiao is reportedly using former UFC fighter Dashon Johnson as one of his many sparring partners to help him get ready for his May 2nd fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Johnson had a 0-2 record in UFC competition, and it’s unclear how Johnson can help Pacquiao prepare for a fighter like Mayweather.

As a boxer, Johnson has a record of 15-19-3, 5 KOs). That’s not very good, is it? About the only thing that Johnson has in common with Mayweather is his height. Even in that area, they’re still different, as Johnson is 5’9” compared to the 5’8” Mayweather.

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Pacquiao/Algieri: Freddie Roach Interview

roach564How was it training in the Philippines?

FREDDIE ROACH: It went really well. We had a great camp. Manny really buckled down the whole training camp and we are really ready for this fight.

Manny has mentioned this camp has been like old times…

FREDDIE ROACH: We brought back a lot of the old workout routines and with Justin Fortune, his old strength coach, being back on board. We went to the heavy bag a lot with really hard work. Not too much mitts where it is flashier – we got more strength. We wanted to get that fire back and start knocking people out again. It’s an old school approach. We did a lot of strength work, and heavy bag work and he is punching better than ever. He’s coming to a weight that is better for him – instead of fighting at 147 he’s fighting at 144. We are going to have our first knockout in a while.

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Mayweather: Pacquiao lost to Marquez because he was focused on me

jmm_ko_pacBy Raj Parmar: Pound for pound number one Floyd Mayweather (46-0, 26 KO’s) has responded to the recent rumors flowing in the boxing world regarding a potential mega-fight between himself and Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KO’s).

Mayweather took the opportunity while responding to the rumors to subtlety jab at Manny regarding his brutal knockout loss a couple years ago to Juan Manuel Marquez.

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Pacquiao re-signs with Top Rank with 2-year contract through 2016

pac87By Chris Williams: WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KO’s) has reportedly re-signed with Top Rank and Bob Arum for 2 years. The contract will keep the 35-year-old Pacquiao through all of 2016, and ends on December 31st. What this means, of course, is that Pacquiao, like Tim Bradley, has essentially lost any chance he ever had of getting a mega fight against WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. unless Mayweather changes his mind about not wanting to deal with Arum.

Pacquiao’s current contract was supposed to end at the end of 2014, and that would have left him a chance to get a fight against Mayweather. Pacquiao then could have gone back to Arum after taking the Mayweather fight and making a huge amount of money.

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What last night meant for Pacquiao

pac93By Timothy Medina:  Last December, all boxing fans were anticipating the fourth fight between Manny Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KO’s) and Juan Manuel Marquez. The fourth fight seemed like it would put an end to the Pacquiao versus Marquez saga. It was a fight surrounded by controversy and Marquez was hoping to have his arms raised in victory to end the saga.

The fight ended sooner than anyone had expected, and it ended in the most surprising way. A right hand by Marquez at the end of the sixth round snapped Pacquiao’s head back and down to the canvas he went. It was thrilling while terrifying due to the fact that Pacquiao was laid out for a few minutes until finally sitting up completely unaware of what hit him. Many boxing fans including myself asked the same question that Larry Merchant asked after the knockout. “Will Manny Pacquiao ever be seen in the ring again?”

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Mayweather says Pacquiao blew his chance to fight him

floyd17By Miguel Alejandro Lopez: Floyd Mayweather Jr. (44-0), currently considered as boxing’s pound for pound best in the world, has changed his mind (yet again) regarding a possible clash with Filipino boxing star Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2). It will be remembered that not too long ago, Mayweather gave Pacquiao a condition for the fight to happen — the Filipino should leave Top Rank Promotions and join Mayweather’s promotional outfit.

In a recent interview with Mlive.com, however, Mayweather took back his words and said “He’s [Pacquiao] not going to get a chance to fight me. I was feeling that way weeks ago. Now, I’m feeling like I wouldn’t even give him a chance. He had a chance, he blew it, so that’s what it is.”

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