SecondsOut.com - SecondsOut breaks down the matchup and figures out who will win.
By Mike Sloan in Las Vegas: This Saturday the MGM Grand Garden Arena
should play host to one of the more intriguing battles of the boxing
year thus far. In one corner will be one of the two most popular,
greatest fighters of this generation in Manny Pacquiao. A man who needs
no introduction based solely on what he’s done inside the ring, Pacquiao
(54-3-2, 38 KOs) is a heavy betting favorite and has been picked by the
vast majority of the boxing world to keep his nearly seven year
(officially) winning streak alive.
Standing opposite of the Filipino superstar is a man who is virtually
unknown to the masses and one who isn’t well known to even casual
boxing fans. Timothy Bradley is a terrific fighter who has never lost a
bout in his professional career, though because of his boxing style, his
lack of power and his low-key approach to life has made him “Pacquiao’s
opponent” coming in to Saturday’s mega bout.
However, just because Bradley (28-0, 12 KOs) isn’t on the same level
in terms of marquee power as Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather, it doesn’t
mean he has no chance of pulling off what would amount to a sizeable
upset. Everyone is clamoring for a Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown, but
Bradley could be the perfect foil to possibly prevent that super fight
from happening.
If you want to know who will win the showdown between Pacquiao and
Bradley before the first punch is thrown, then look no further than
here.
Punching power: Pacquiao is a devastating puncher, a
man who can end a fight with a single punch. Though he hits very hard
with both hands, his straight left hand is a thing of beauty. It’s a
weapon that has removed many a professional fighter from his
consciousness and if Bradley can’t absorb or dodge that missile, he’ll
be in for a rude awakening. Bradley, on the other hand, has some sting
in his gloves but he’s nowhere near the same level as his opponent.
Pacquiao has ten more knockouts on his resume than Bradley has
professional fights. This category is wipeout. Advantage: Pacquiao.
Speed: To coincide with his crippling power,
Pacquiao also has lightning quick hands and panther-like reflexes.
However, Bradley also is a blur when he fires and his sheer speed more
than makes up for his lack of raw firepower. Still, it’s hard to argue
against Pacquiao’s speed because his often oafish, sometimes sloppy,
usually off-balance offense is quickly righted because he gets back into
position immediately. That speed masks many of Manny’s flaws. Though
Bradley is extremely quick with his releases and defense, it’s hard to
pick against Pac Man in this department. Advantage: Pacquiao
Size: Both men are the same height and they’ve both
been at this weight for a good amount of time. Bradley has a two-inch
reach advantage and neither will bulk up two or three weight classes
between the weigh-in and the fight. This category, per the norm, is a
wash. Advantage: Push
Age factor: Pacquiao is 33; Bradley is 28. Pacquiao
is still in his prime, though it’s typically around this age when the
decline slowly starts to kick in. Bradley still has a good four or five
years of prime fighting in his tank where Pacquiao doesn’t. Also,
Pacquiao has been involved in many grueling wars over the years and
though he’s almost always come out on top, his three bouts with Juan
Manuel Marquez, two of his three with Erik Morales, and various battles
against Marco Antonio Barrera, Antonio Margarito and Oscar Larios
weren’t exactly healthy endeavors. Those battles all take their toll on
fighters and eventually it catches up to them. Bradley has yet to really
find himself in a life and death struggle; he’ll probably find one on
Saturday. Advantage: Bradley
Chin: Bradley has never been visibly hurt as a pro
and getting him off his feet has proven to be near impossible. Pacquiao
has been floored several times throughout his career, but he always gets
back up and takes care of business. Though Rustico Torrecampo ended his
night with one punch, that was sixteen years ago. It’s hard to argue
against Pacquiao’s chin because he’s taken on so many elite level
fighters since he became a pound-for-pound entrant and never has been
taken out. It’s a hard argument either way because on one hand you have a
guy who’s never shown a chink in his chin’s armor and another who has
learned to absorb the hardest of shots. Still, if one guy has been
knocked down multiple times and rocked by various opponents AND was
knocked out with one punch to the jaw (regardless of how long ago), it’s
hard to pick him. However, and this is a big one, Pacquiao will take
out Bradley if he hits him clean and hard; the same can’t be said if
Bradley connects on Manny’s jaw. The power differential goes a long way
when comparing their two chins and them hitting each other. Advantage:
Pacquiao.
Experience: Bradley has taken on some great fighters
recently: Joel Casamayor, Lamont Peterson, Devon Alexander, Luis
Abregu, Junior Witter and a few worthwhile others. Pacquiao has locked
horns with Morales (thrice), Marquez (thrice), Barrera (twice), Oscar de
la Hoya, Shane Mosley, Margarito, Miguel Cotto, Jorge Solis. The list
goes on and on. On top of that, Pacquiao’s fights have become some of
the biggest attractions in the world with millions upon millions of fans
watching him. Bradley has yet to even come close to achieving that.
Advantage: Pacquiao
Intangibles: Pacquiao has been here many, many times
in his life. Nothing fazes the guy. With that said, there has been
rampant distractions in his camp as of late and he hasn’t looked as
dominant as usual in his last few fights. Sure, he handled Mosley easily
but he wasn’t able to put him away when he had ample opportunities to
do so. Pacquiao also covets a showdown with Mayweather and a loss to
Bradley might dash all hopes of that. One thing worth noting is that
everybody around Pacquiao or involved with this fight appear to be
awestruck by him and yuck it up whenever he speaks. At the press
conference on Wednesday it was a Pacquiao love fest. The WBO gave him a
diamond ring, MGM Resorts president Richard Stern couldn’t stop gushing
over Pacquiao on the dais and gave a very small amount of attention to
Bradley and the media were largely fawning all over the Filipino; the
opposite of their treatment toward Pacquiao.
The mainstream sports/news outlets who never watch the fights yet are
assigned to the biggest events of the year have only focused on
Pacquiao because he’s the story. Many people who aren’t involved in
boxing, yet have gotten media passes for this fight, admittedly don’t
know who Bradley is and many of
those individuals never gave
him the time of day because, as one of them put it, he’s “not
important.” All this is monitored by Bradley, who is out to prove to the
world that he can beat Pacquiao. Even when he has proclaimed over and
over that he’ll beat Pacquiao and fight him again in November, he’s
laughed at.
Bradley’s look is one of a man hell bent to win. He’s determined,
he’s focused, and he’s not playing games. In fact, it’s been an
extremely long time since an undefeated young underdog has looked this
focused, this hungry for victory. In fact, Bradley is so hungry to win
that Sally Struthers was outside of the Hollywood Theatre inside the MGM
begging people to adopt him. It’s difficult to defeat a man who is both
great at what he does and is a hungry as Bradley. Pacquiao just doesn’t
seem to share Bradley’s intensity. Even though Pacquiao is always laid
back and reserved, he just doesn’t have that same fire in his eyes where
Bradley’s shoot flames. Advantage: Bradley
The bottom line: Many think Pacquiao will climb into
the ring and take apart Bradley. A sizeable chunk of those people think
Bradley will get stopped along the way. If Bradley winds up being
unable to cope with Pacquiao’s tricky angles and, most importantly, his
power, he won’t last. However, Bradley’s awkward style, his angles, his
speed, and the way he forces his opponents into a rough brawl on the
inside is something Pacquiao has never been fond of. Bradley likes to
thwart his foes’ attacks by clinching, mauling, and busting them up on
the inside. Pacquiao likes to have control and back his opponents up
where he can dominate. Bradley doesn’t play that game and likes to push
his style onto the man he’s trying to topple. Bradley will make this a
very uncomfortable fight for the Filipino and it’ll be ugly. There will
be a lot of clinching, a ton of mauling, and Pacquiao will grow
frustrated though he’ll keep his cool. Pacquiao might even get cut from
an errant head butt or hook on the inside. Bradley does tend to throw
looping punches on the outside but he’ll corral that error and force the
action into the clinch. Many of the rounds will be very close and
Bradley will impose his tricky style more than Pacquiao will and he’ll
steal rounds. In the end, Bradley will have won enough rounds to earn
the decision but because the Nevada judges are usually incompetent and
because Bradley didn’t “truly beat the
champ”
he’ll get screwed. It’s unclear as to whether it’ll be an egregious
decision that is scored a draw or if it will be close enough to warrant
Pacquiao getting the majority decision. Either way, Bradley will have
actually won but will not walk out of the ring as the official winner.
Bank on it.
You can also contact Mike Sloan at www.facebook.com/mikesloan19 or follow him on Twitter @mikesloan19
This report provided to Doghouse Boxing by SecondsOut.com
For much more boxng headlines and videos, visit the homepage at
DoghouseBoxing.
Write for Doghouse Boxing:
anthonyc1974@gmail.com.
NEW: Follow Doghouse Boxing on FaceBook!
For more Boxing News 24/7 and so much more...
visit our homepage now!