When Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley face each other in the ring on April 9, both will be fighting to settle the score in a rubber match to settle a controversial feud.
The feud began back in 2012 when Bradley won a controversial decision over Pacquiao to win the WBO welterweight title. Many experts had the then champion Pacquiao clearly ahead in the bout, but two of the three judges scored the fight in favor of the challenger.
After the bout, Pacquiao's camp went as far as having a formal review done. The review, which was done by a special five judge panel, scored the fight in favor of the former champion. Unfortunately for Pacquiao, according to the rules of the WBO the decision cannot be over turned, and the best the WBO could do is order a rematch.
The rematch happened in 2014 with Pacquiao winning by unanimous decision. The loss in this fight was the first defeat of Bradley's career.
After the loss, Bradley was extremely humble. He said his opponent was better than him that night, and that he will be back in the future.
Fast forward to the present day, both fighters have gone through a lot of hardships to get to this point. Pacquiao has not fought since losing the "Mega Fight" with Floyd Mayweather Jr. back in May 2015. The Filipino slugger has gone through rotator cuff surgery to repair the shoulder he hurt in preparation for the mega fight, and many experts believe this could be his last fight, Boxing Junkie reported.
On the other hand, Bradley has fought three times since his loss to Pacquiao. His last fight against Brandon Rios saw him knock out his opponent to retain the WBO welterweight belt.
However, to take the fight against Pacquiao, Bradley was forced to vacate the title since the Filipino fighter is not the mandated number one contender, Boxing Scene reported.
Bradley's camp has also stated that his fighting style has changed since the last contest. The American boxer has gone on record saying that he has been transformed into a dangerous monster by Teddy Atlas.
This has not deterred Pacquiao's camp, as famous trainer Freddy Roach has already stated that they will not be contented with anything but a stoppage. Roach predicts that his fighter will be able to stop Bradley by the ninth round via K.O.
Check out a promo video for the fight here: