AFTER saying only days back that Timothy Bradley would be his next foe in April, Manny Pacquiao has started singing a new tune.
No, he was not meaning to drop Bradley. Very un-Pacquiao like. Pacquiao has always valued word of honor. Gentleman to the max, he is.
When he segued to another topic after Bradley, he was just re-expressing an old sentiment. And that is, that he wants another fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. And that?s no surprise.
Did he not say he thought he won the fight when he was interviewed in the ring after the bout ended in a unanimous decision victory for Mayweather?
And did he not also request, demand, later for a return bout with Mayweather ?anywhere, anytime, anything.?
Read ?anything? as ?any prize.?
Of course, the prize money for a rematch may not even approximate the first fight?s earnings, which, after breaching the $400-million mark, became the richest fight in history.
Each took home record purses after their May non-mayhem of a fight, with Mayweather reportedly making more than $200 million and Pacquiao more than $100 million in a 12-round non-thriller shifting quickly to the ugly tag ?Farce of The Century? from the much-ballyhooed pre-bout bill of ?Fight of The Century.?
Still, instantly, the 12-round, 36-minute bore bequeathed Mayweather the smudge-laden title as America?s highest-paid athlete, a dubious distinction that also went Pacquiao?s way in Asia?s sports history. Not even Chinese giant Yao Ming had earned as much as Pacquiao did in the 7?-foot-2?s years and years of NBA toil.
But while Pacquiao continues to bask in the glory of his celebrity status despite that loss to Mayweather, one cannot ignore the fact that Bradley poses a threat?a serious one?in their Las Vegas clash.
In 2013, Pacquiao could only decision Brandon Rios in 12 rounds.
Only last November, Bradley, whose lone defeat in a 31-1-1 card was handed by Pacquiao, stopped Rios in the 9th.
The danger, thus, is for real: Bradley?s chances of victory against Pacquiao have become of critical level.
Said promoter Bob Arum: ?Bradley, under a new trainer, has become brand-new.?
Pacquiao-Mayweather II could then be in jeopardy?
Only Pacquiao has the answer.
