Due to the contrasting styles of each man, as well as the added theatrics that have taken place outside of the ring this week, the Manny Pacquiao vs. Brandon Rios matchup has taken over boxing?s center stage.
Set to face off with one another on Saturday night in Macau, China on HBO pay per view, Pacquiao and Rios will both be looking to bounce back from recent setbacks in a scene that will surely create serious drama and suspsense.
WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley, who defeated Pacquiao via split-decision in June of last year, showed great affinity towards the matchup during our conversation on Thursday afternoon inside of the Palazzo Resort in Las Vegas.
?Interesting fight,? Bradley stated. ?Fan-friendly fight. All the fans around the world should definitely be watching this fight. A lot of fans, they complain about running; there?s not going to be any running in this fight. It?s going to be fireworks in this fight.
When I spoke with Bradley about the fight in August, he claimed that Pacquiao would likely be able to do serious damage on Rios if he had fully recovered from his knockout loss to Marquez this past December.
Three months later and Bradley would take a moment to assess Rios? best options in the face of what many are calling an uphill battle.
?Rios, he?s going to have to drop feints, stay low, close the gap, stay close to Manny Pacquiao,? Bradley explained. ?Make Manny Pacquiao retreat, keep his hands high on the ropes, work him to the body and then either tie him up or stay low and get out the way. Pacquiao will be returning shots. He?ll let you hit him, but he?ll be returning shots.
?And don?t stay flat footed,? said Bradley. ?Rios has a tendency to stay straight in front of you and walk you down and throw big shots. He shouldn?t do that. He should be moving around. Attacking from angles. Don?t be stationary. Constantly moving that head. Making hard for Pacquiao to time him. He?ll have a good chance at doing that. If he doesn?t, I think he loses the fight.?
