A third bout between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley is an ill-conceived idea that doesn?t deserve any serious consideration.
Manny Pacquiao, above, is feeling pressure from promoter Bob Arum to fight Timothy Bradley again on April 9.
That hasn?t stopped Bob Arum, Pacquiao?s promoter, from forcing Pacquiao to contemplate boxing Bradley again when he returns to the ring April 9 in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao?s first fight since his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. is supposed to be his last bout before retirement. The 37-year-old Pacquiao probably won?t retire after his next fight, but he still shouldn?t waste his time ? or ours ? reiterating what we learned the first two times he battled Bradley.
The infamously horrendous decision in their first fight aside, the Filipino superstar has for all intents and purposes beaten Bradley twice rather easily. There?s no justification whatsoever for paying Pacquiao another $20 million guarantee to box Bradley again or asking boxing fans to pay at least $60 to watch.
Arum?s rationale is that new trainer Teddy Atlas has made Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs, 1 NC) a different fighter now capable of defeating Pacquiao. Bradley, also promoted by Top Rank, looked good while battering Brandon Rios into submission Nov. 7 in Las Vegas, but Rios? poor performance was an undeniable factor in Bradley?s first fight with Atlas in his corner.
And remember, Bradley boxed brilliantly while defeating Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez in the bout before Pacquiao dominated him during their April 2014 rematch in Las Vegas. Why should anyone expect a third fight against Pacquiao to unfold differently following a good showing against a much lesser fighter than Marquez?
Unfortunately for Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs), his opponent pool is limited because Mayweather is retired, at least temporarily, and because many of boxing?s best welterweights and junior welterweights are advised by the ever-polarizing Al Haymon.
Arum worked with Haymon for the Mayweather showdown because the fight was worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The Hall of Fame promoter isn?t about to do it again, though, so that Pacquiao can fight Adrien Broner (31-2, 23 KOs, 1 NC), who has lobbied hard on social media to land the Pacquiao bout.
Pacquiao?s trainer, Freddie Roach, reportedly doesn?t want Pacquiao to face the most logical Top Rank-promoted opponent, Terence Crawford (27-0, 19 KOs), because Crawford?s style would be too problematic in what would be Pacquiao?s first fight in nearly a year.
That significantly limits Pacquiao?s options. It still shouldn?t lead to him battling Bradley again.
There?s no reasonable rationale for that.
