Manny Pacquiao can be beaten. But then, so can anyone ? from elite champion to tomato can ? who dares to step into the squared circle for combat. Even fighters who managed to retire undefeated, such as Rocky Marciano, Joe Calzaghe, Sven Ottke and Ricardo Lopez, experienced some narrow escapes on their way to achieving their unblemished ledgers. And if they had gone on in their careers, who is to say whether or not they would have eventually lost their ?0??
Pacquiao has lost three times in his storied career, but his last official defeat came seven years ago, in the first bout of his trilogy with Erik Morales. Some people say Manny lost unofficially to Juan Manuel Marquez last year, but the judges? scorecards said otherwise.
This coming Saturday, Pacquiao will defend his WBO welterweight crown against junior-welterweight king Timothy ?Desert Storm? Bradley. Bradley is undefeated in 28 bouts, and at age 28 is the youngest, hungriest opponent Pacquiao has faced in many a year. To defeat Bradley, Pacquiao will have to box a lot better than he did against his nemesis Marquez.
However, even if the Pac-Man has lost a step at age 33; even if his energy-consuming style of fighting has caught up with him; even if problems outside the ring have distracted him from his craft; Pacquiao is better by far than anyone Bradley has faced to date. ?Desert Storm? will have to fight the battle of a lifetime to claim Pacquiao?s crown. Is Bradley equal to the task? Well, the main knock against him is that his 28 straight victories contain only 12 via the short route. In his most recent contest, Bradley stopped a used-up Joel Casamayor in eight rounds. To find Bradley?s last knockout before then, though, you?d have to go all the way back to April of 2007, when Timothy stopped one Nasser Athumani in five.
But the infrequency of Bradley?s KO wins does not necessarily mean he is feather-fisted. Jake LaMotta, middleweight champ during the late 1940s and early ?50s, scored only 30 stoppages in his 106-bout career. Yet it is unlikely that any of his opponents ? including Sugar Ray Robinson ? would have labeled ?The Bronx Bull? a light hitter. By the same token, Barney Ross, who won both the lightweight and welterweight titles in the 1930s, compiled a mere 22 kayoes in his 79 contests. But no one dismissed the numerous punches Ross landed as love taps. Bradley?s blows may not be as powerful as those of Pacquiao. But they can hurt, frustrate and wear down an opponent.
Besides, Bradley?s judicious use of his shaven skull makes up for whatever may be lacking in his fists.
Another knock against Bradley is his chin, mainly because he was floored twice in the process of winning a decision over Kendall Holt. Those trips to the deck did not discourage Bradley; they only motivated him to fight harder.
So, Timothy Bradley is no pushover. Yet even though he is undefeated, he can still be beaten. And Pacquiao, for all the hitches in his last few bouts, is still the fighter who has carried the sport on his shoulders since 2007. He is the best-known pugilist in the world, occupying a level of superstar-power only the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson, and Oscar De La Hoya have reached. He has already cemented his status as one of the best fighters pound-for-pound of all time.
Legends like Manny Pacquiao do not go down easily. He has acknowledged that Marquez III was not one of his best efforts. He wants very much to erase the perception that he is past his peak, and ready to be taken down.
Manny Pacquiao can be beaten. But he is a great fighter, and it will take another great fighter to hand him a decisive defeat at this point in his career. Timothy Bradley is a very good fighter, and a rising young star. That won?t be enough on Saturday night. Even so, great plus very good can produce a crowd-pleasing battle. Fight-of-the-Year, anyone?
