For Timothy Bradley Jr. a simple win over Brandon Rios may not be enough to fulfill his craving.
That craving is of course a possible shot at Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao in 2016 where Desert Storm could be anointed the chosen one if he churns out an impressive performance against Brandon Rios.
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Bradley was initially mentioned as a possible opponent for Pacquiao, but the past weeks have seen his name omitted from that list.
Though nothing is final, the only way Bradley can catapult himself to the shortlisted candidates (which as of this writing has been whittled down to Amir Khan and Terence Crawford) is a sensational showing against Rios.
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He knows that a simple win will not be enough to draw interest from the Pacquiao camp and the American boxer could use that as added motivation to churn out something big. Though he is a slight favorite if the fight goes the technical route, it will be interesting how a change in trainer has altered Desert Storm, who is coming off another controversial win over Jesse Vargas.
Bradley ditched long-time trainer Joel Diaz in favor of Teddy Atlas and the changes are expected to be seen in his fight against Bam Bam (Rios).
It was not the first time that Bradley has been drawn to a controversial fight. In fact he had one against Pacquiao when the two met back in 2012. Bradley won that one via controversial spit decision which called for a rematch in 2014.
Pacquiao vs. Bradley II was a far cry from that 2012 match, seeing the Filipino boxer win via unanimous decision. Technically both are 1-1 and to break that off, a rubber match next year could be possible.
But before looking ahead, Bradley is aware that the opportunity is there and he must first hack out a big win over Rios and then think of making a case as Pacquiao’s final opponent in April 2016.
Assuming he does win, the odds are not too kind to Bradley as Pacquiao’s final opponent for now. So in all, only a close-to-perfect performance seems to be the way to go and Bradley knows it darn well.
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