When
Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley step into the ring across
from one another on Saturday in Las Vegas for the third time, there are
plenty of storylines to be covered.
Is Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 knockouts), at the age of 37, too far past
his prime to outlast Bradley? Can the 32-year-old Bradley (33-3-1, 13
KOs) finally defeat Pacquiao definitively (he’s split his first two
matches against Pacquiao, but most observers believe Bradley was easily
beaten in both fights)? Can trainer Teddy Atlas lead Bradley, in just
their second fight working together, to the most-satisfying victory of
his career? Is this really the final fight of Pacquiao’s career, and can
he go out on top after losing so badly to Floyd Mayweather last year?
Manny Pacquiao, left, is 1-1 in his career vs. Timothy Bradley (JOHN GURZINSKI/AFP/Getty Images).
We’ll know for sure when the two battle at the MGM Grand and on the
HBO pay-per-view telecast. But before then, plenty of prognosticators
have made their predictions. These are the people who should have solid
educated guesses, and these are the people who know the two fighters’
tendencies better than most anybody else. Here are their thoughts.
Steve Cunningham: A two-time cruiserweight world
titlist who will look to win another cruiserweight belt next week when
he fights Krzysztof Glowacki, Cunningham thinks Atlas might be the
difference for Bradley. But he also cites Bradley’s intelligence.
“Bradley is smart,” Cunningham told Forbes recently. “You don’t want to
fight guys like Bradley three or four times. Pacquiao is still a beast.
But he knows what he did wrong in that second fight [where Pacquiao got
the wide unanimous decision victory]. I think we’ll see a more effective
Bradley.”
Juan Manuel Marquez: He knows both fighters well,
having fought Pacquiao four times for an 1-2-1 record (with a
spectacular knockout win in their final matchup in 2012) and having lost
to Bradley by split decision in 2013. Instead of making a prediction,
he offered advice. “Bradley has to move in the ring, stay in the comfort
zone and in the combat zone, use side-to-side movement, and not allow
Pacquiao to use speed against him,” Marquez told ESPN Deportes, via Boxing Scene.
“… I think [Pacquiao] is still in a good moment as a boxer. After that
knockout in 2012, he managed to regain his position, and that is
something that a lot of fighters — after a knockout of this nature —
were not able to do.”
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