Tim Bradley is not going to let Max Kellerman interrupt him during the recent HBO face-off; ?Eight to four?eight to four?I beat Pacquiao eight to four??
There are over 7.2 billion people in the world and I suspect if you could, in some dream state boxing world, have each and every one of them watch the first fight and the only person on the planet, who would say Bradley won, is TIM BRADLEY!
The broadcasting team that night, specifically Jim Lampley, alluded to the decision as one of the worst ever! In that context, and all things considered in terms of the vast majority of journalists having seen Manny Pacquiao win the first fight, Bradley?s comments afterwards leading up to the second fight have been, if not scorecard delusional, most certainly disrespectful.
ASS
Leading up to the Pacquiao vs. Rios fight Bradley made the following comments at ?On The Ropes Boxing Radio?: ?I?m just going to take it to his ass, me I?m going to take it to his ass. Plain and simple, I told you the fight is personal, and everybody was like ?oh, he ran the first time? Nah, I?m taking it to you buddy, I?m going to tell you the game plan right now. Game plan is to bite down on my mouth piece and I?m taking it right to you from round one and we are going to war?. Bradley tried that approach versus Provodnikov and it did not work out too well. But for some questionable referee calls, as to whether there were slips or knockdowns etc., one could argue that Bradley lost his fight with Provodnikov. What that fight did clearly show is that Bradley is susceptible to being hurt by a fighter that is prepared to consistently move forward with power.
CONCLUSIONAL
This is a make or break fight for Manny Pacquiao in terms of his continuing to be an ?A? level star attraction. There?s no question that he has the speed, both hand and foot, and power, to make this second fight a conclusional effort and by that I mean highlight reel knockout! The real question will be whether Manny is prepared to use his superior punching power to consistently move forward and back Bradley up and whether, when Bradley is on the ropes, Manny is prepared to stay in the pocket and punish Bradley.
Bradley has a very deceiving defence which, by way of head and body movement, is very hard to time. This was clearly seen in the Marquez fight. Provodnikov, on the other hand, simply decided to use his superior power to push Bradley back and punish him. Manny needs to do the same and rather than step back out, and reset his attack, he needs to stay in the pocket on top of Bradley and use his superior power. Much too often during the first fight he would step back and recalibrate.
Numbers Don?t Lie
Tim Bradley has one of the inferior K.O. percentages of all Champions today. In thirty-two fights he only has twelve knockouts. Most certainly any man can hurt another if a punch lands in a certain fashion and in Bradley?s fashion that would be one that is unseen and with speed while catching Manny off balance. Alternatively, given Bradley?s inferior K.O. percentage, Manny most certainly should be using his punching speed and power to back Bradley up all over the ring.
Conclusional
Manny Pacquiao might not, but could, and should, knock Tim Bradley out! If Tim Bradley wins, boxing?s geography of the next twelve months and the super fights to be made will have changed dramatically and possibly not for the best from an excitement level.
