It appears that Manny Pacquiao is serious about regaining his lost WBO welterweight title against Timothy Bradley and there is a likelihood that he won’t show a bit of compassion against the unbeaten American fighter at the the MGM Grand Saturday night About a month after his stunning loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012, Pacquiao assured his fans that he had recovered from his sixth round knockout loss and promised them he will train doubly hard get back in shape. After a year-long layoff, Pacquiao was ready to show his fans that he had what it takes to share the spotlight once more with his first fight outside the US following his unanimous decision win against Mexican Oscar Larios at the Araneta Coliseum in the Philippines seven years ago. Pacquiao took on the young and rugged brawler Brandon Rios for his comeback fight last November in Macau, China. Although he won convincingly against Rios, his stellar ring performance still showed his compassionate side as a person and a fighter which drew criticism from his longtime trainer Freddie Roach.
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Roach bared his observation and feelings about Pacquiao’s change of fighting style after his rendezvous with a Christian religious group that promotes Bible study and sharing. Boxing observers claim that Pacquiao has mutated into a compassionate fighter following his Christian transformation. Roach agrees and tried to remedy the situation by researching on Bible passages that proves compassion does not win boxing fights. ?I told him in the Bible there?s a lot of violence. This is a sport that God doesn?t control, you control. I try to just talk sense to him about not being compassionate but obviously I haven?t gotten through to him because he still was a little compassionate in the last fight (against Brandon Rios) and he seems a little bit more fired up for this fight but I can?t guarantee that if he hurts him he?ll finish him,? Roach told Ryan Songolia of Rappler.com. There was a time when Roach would see how Pacquiao enjoyed his victories during the early part of his career by inflicting knockdowns and scoring knockouts over his opponents, including veteran fighters Marco Antonio Barrera, Erick Morales and Ricky Hatton, among others. ?When he first started knocking people out he really enjoyed it,? said Roach. ?It?s a great feeling when you hit someone with the perfect shot and knock him out.? Still, Roach isn’t totally convinced that Pacquiao won’t show compassion with Bradley come Saturday night. But Pacquiao’s body language with barely a day before the fight says otherwise. Roach Bible research must have gone into Pacquiao’s mindset which could lead the eight-division titleholder to unleash his awesome power for a knockout win. If that happens, Pacquiao will soon realize that indeed compassion does not win boxing fights.
