The decision for Manny Pacquiao's final opponent hasn't come easy.
The choice was whittled down to two after Amir Khan and his camp opted to pull out and work on a fight involving Kell Brook. That meant that there were only two names in the mix – Terence Crawford and Timothy Bradley Jr.
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But Crawford has been technically crossed out for April 9 after USA Today reported that he would be defending his title in February.
So that leaves Bradley as the only choice, though until that is made official, there is a chance he could opt out too. Bradley hinted that he preferred a fight with Miguel Cotto, though such a bout is uncertain.
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Is there a power struggle from within the Pacquiao camp?
A report from Fighthype.com believes so. If the report is true, promoter Bob Arum had wanted Pacquiao to face Crawford to offer fans something new, but the Filipino fighter wanted Bradley because he was someone he was familiar with.
With all due respect to Bradley, he isn’t the same fighter that Pacquiao faced in 2012 and 2014. This was evident when “Desert Storm” defeated Brandon Rios, so the eight-time division champion could be in for a surprise with Teddy Atlas guiding Bradley.
Arum said he was a bit surprised via Boxingscene.com at the delay in announcement, something that should have been over with.
Regardless, Arum says he respects Pacquiao’s move, though one can sense that there seems to be a slight sense of urgency given that he is down to just one name to face in Bradley.
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