The best person to predict the winner in the upcoming fight between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley is one who has engaged both of them in the ring and that person is no other than Mexican counter-puncher Juan Manuel Marquez. Marquez has engaged both fighters in the ring during his most recent fights. His actual ring experience with both fighters makes him a credible person who can predict the outcome of the fight. Marquez has fought Pacquiao four times in the past decade so he knows Pacquiao from head to foot. Last year, he targeted Bradley’s WBO welterweight title but failed to score a win. But why is Marquez siding with Pacquiao this time? The answer of course is nothing more than a hype for a possible fifth encounter with his long-time ring rival.
But there are two compelling reasons?other than promoting a fifth fight?why the Mexican would opt for a Pacquiao win over Bradley. First, he needs the belt that Bradley is wearing because that belt would make him a five-division world champion, a world record to emulate by a Mexican fighter. And if Pacquiao is successful in regaining his WBO welterweight belt from Bradley, then Marquez will have the opportunity to grab it from Pacquiao in a fifth encounter. Earlier, Marquez was trying to set up a rematch with Bradley but was unsuccessful because their promoter Bob Arum may have blocked it for financial reasons. Arum knows that a Bradley-Marquez rematch would not give him a decent return based on their dismal pay-per-view (PPV) record. Secondly, Marquez knows that a fifth encounter with Pacquiao will be his most lucrative fight ever. And if he is lucky as he was in their fourth fight, he can retire with an enviable record of beating Pacquiao twice in their decade-old rivalry. A win by Pacquiao over Bradley almost guarantees a fifth fight between the Filipino star and Marquez as Arum would be more than willing to arrange it for a year-end blockbuster. Also, a win by Pacquiao over Bradley and Marquez could drive potential foe Floyd Mayweather crazy as he will have to think of a new way to downplay or prevent the Pacquiao fight from happening. Meanwhile, betting stations had placed Pacquiao a 7-4 favorite to win over Bradley in their April 12 fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
