This is a curiosity fight.
Almost everyone thought Manny Pacquiao pretty easily beat Tim Bradley, I wouldn’t call it a blowout, Bradley won some rounds, but it should have been the clear win for Pacquiao.
In the end, the judges gave the fight to Bradley and that wasn’t his fault, even if he was the one who took the slander.
Since that time it is Pacquiao who has been put to sleep and Bradley who has had a couple of memorable performances, that have some people making him the slight favorite in the rematch.
Not surprisingly Pacquiao and Bradley don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things. Here is what Bradley had to say about Pac’s desire to fight.
“Manny didn’t look the same against Rios. He didn’t have his usual killer instinct. That’s the first thing I noticed.
“I don’t think he has the hunger anymore and it’s never coming back. He no longer has his killer instinct. That’s the first thing I noticed in the Rios fight. Every time he backed Rios into a corner, Manny stepped back instead of going for it. He didn’t even try to put Rios away. That spoke volumes to me.
Pacquiao has a different take.
“The only way Bradley can beat me this time is to knock me out. He cannot outbox me. I will be the aggressor. I will throw a lot of punches at him – more than I threw against Rios — and I will land them. Last time I was too nice. This time, I will finish what I start.
“Boxing has always been fun for me. This time the fun is secondary. This is a mission to prove I am the best.
“In my fight against Rios I proved I can still fight at the high level everyone expects from me. I showed I can still control a fight as well as I ever have.”
We will find out who is telling the truth on April 12th.
Photo Credit: Chris Farina – Top Rank
