READY FOR ACTION | Pacquiao vs Bradley fight week is upon us. Manny is ready. (Photo : Jhay Oh Otamias)
8-time division champion Manny Pacquiao is down to his one final bout, a farewell fight with Timothy 'Desert Storm' Bradley at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Event Details:
Match: Manny Pacquiao (57-6-2 with 38 KOs) vs. Timothy Bradley (33-1-1 with 13 KOs)
TV Schedule (PPV Info)/ Start Time: HBO PPV. Premier Sports (Free TV for UK) / Undercard start at 7:00 p.m US ET, main event at around 10 p.m US ET
Live Stream: HBO PPV for US, Premier Sports for UK, Sportsnet.com for Canada
Additional Info: CompuBox scores, Sherdog for Scores and Play by Play
Full Card for PacBradley III
Manny Pacquiao vs. Tim Bradley 12 Round for WBO International Welterweight Championship
Gilberto Ramirez vs. Arthur Abraham (c) - WBO Super Middleweight title.
Oscar Valdez vs. Evgeny Gradovich - Featherweight
Jose Ramírez vs. Manuel Perez - Super Lightweight
Egidijus Kavaliauskas vs. Deniz Ilbay - Light Welterweight
Oleksandr Gvozdyk vs. Nadjib Mohammedi - Light Heavyweight
What's on the line: Pacquiao is looking to finish his boxing career with a victory against a boxer, though in controversial fashion, gave him one of his six losses in the ring. The eight-division champion insists that this will be his final fight before he fully commits himself into the world of politics, and not even another rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. would prevent from doing so.
Bradley, meanwhile, wants to reaffirm himself as one of the top boxers today. With the departure of Mayweather and soon Pacquiao, the Desert Storm looks to show the world that his time to be boxing's next face has arrived. Moreover, a victory over Pacquiao would sure erase the controversy created by the first fight.
Related Story: Pacquiao-Bradley III: Preview and Prediction
Prediction: It's going to be a nip-and-tuck battle with Pacquiao the aggressor of course and Bradley counter-punching. Freddie Roach again predicted a knockout win by his 36-year old prize fighter, and I think he's wrong again.
There won't be any knockout in this match. The Pacman is nothing but a shell of his former self. In the fight against Mayweather, he managed to land some clear shots but the devastating power was clearly not there. If Pacquiao wants to win this match, he needs to score points rather than knockout. Swarming Bradley with a volume is key in this match, though he must always keep himself on guard of big counterpunch from the Desert Storm.
As for Bradley, I see him spending the whole night throwing counterpunches and lead right. He will be more aggressive than he was the last two fights, knowing Pacquiao no longer has the power to knock him out cold. This paves way to a toe-to-toe confrontation that will eventually lead to a decision at the end.
Predicted Winner: Most boxing experts [HBO Boxing] predict Pacquiao bagging a unanimous decision win over Bradley to close the book of their rivalry at 2-1. I also believe Pacquiao will win this one, but via split decision. It might be a farewell fight for Pacquiao, but Bradley won't give him a walk in the park as he also treats this a make-or-break fight for him.
