Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley
For the third time and undoubtedly final time Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley will face off in the ring. Their fight headlines Saturday's HBO pay-per-view card and it will settle their 1-1 tie although nearly everyone involved with the sport see it as 2-0 in favor of Pacquiao. This fight will also be Pacquiao's last if we are to believe his word as he is set to return to the Philippines to focus on his political career. The third fight in this rivalry is scheduled to go 12 rounds and although it is a non-title fight the WBO will be awarding the winner a "legacy belt," made specifically for this fight.
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| Pacquiao will look to go out in victory |
Pacquiao has to be one of the most awkward fighters in the sport and the fact that he is a southpaw makes his style that much more confusing to opponents. He has always been a very aggressive fighter and he throws punches from seemingly every possible angle. When it comes to hand speed not many have ever been faster than Pacquiao who throws combinations with lightning quickness. Pacquiao works behind a good jab and while he has a strong right hook his best punch is his straight left hand that fires off like a piston. Pacquiao's power seems to have vanished though, at least his finishing power. Once known for his knockouts Pacquiao hasn't stopped a fighter since 2009 when he stopped Miguel Cotto in the final round. While he can still drop opponents he doesn't finish them like he used to. While Pacquiao does have fast feet he doesn't avoid a lot of punches and his defense has always been a very good offense.
When it comes to resumes not many are better than Pacquiao's who has won titles in eight weight classes. During his legendary career he has scored wins over Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley and others, basically a whose who of the sport. Pacquiao did come up short though in the biggest fight of his career and his most recent trip to the ring against Floyd Mayweather. Following that fight Pacquiao claimed that he injured his right shoulder and he hasn't fought since. Going into Saturday's fight Pacquiao has a career record of 57-6-2 with 38 knockouts and he is currently ranked sixth in Big Time Boxing's pound-for-pound rankings.
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| Bradley was nearly perfect against Rios |
As he has shown throughout his entire career not many fighters can compete with Bradley's stamina and heart and he is as tough as they come. Bradley fights out of the orthodox stance and has always shown a high quality jab and solid defense. However, in recent fights that defense hasn't been as sharp and Bradley has been in some wars. Although he doesn't carry much pop on his punches he is an accurate puncher and makes good use of his left hook and straight right hand. Also, Bradley has a high ring IQ and while he doesn't always look pretty he is usually very effective.
Like Pacquiao, Bradley has built an impressive career. During his time in the sport he has had wins over Lamont Peterson, Devon Alexander, Pacquiao, Ruslan Provodnikov, Marquez, and Brandon Rios. His career record stands at 33-1-1 but he only has 13 knockouts to his name. His lone loss came in his second fight with Pacquiao although a strong argument can be made that he lost their first fight and also lost to Provodnikov. Also, like he has for much of the recent past Bradley is ranked in Big Time Boxing's top 10 pound-for-pound rankings in the seventh hole.
Fans were not exactly calling for a third fight between Pacquiao and Bradley but there is a new wrinkle which makes things a bit more interesting, Bradley's new trainer Teddy Atlas. Atlas is a master motivator and the first time he and Bradley worked together Bradley looked terrific, stopping Brandon Rios which no fighter, including Pacquiao had ever done before. If Atlas can amp Bradley up in the late rounds this could be a better fight than expected, especially since Pacquiao is coming off a long layoff and has his eyes on retirement.
PREDICTION: Of their three fight this one will be the best. While Manny Pacquiao can rightfully claim that he won both previous fight he didn't dominate either bout. The lack of power will hurt Timothy Bradley in this fight but he will give it everything he has as he always does. After their first fight much drama will probably surround the reading of the official scorecards but this time around the judges will get it right and Pacquiao will win the fight by the way of majority decision.
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