Former welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao is fighting April 9 in what may very well be the last bout of his legendary career. So Bob Arum and Top Rank dropped the ball by putting him back in the ring with Timothy Bradley.
Bob Arum says Manny Pacquiao will fight Timothy Bradley April 9 at MGM Grand. "We've worked out the deals, now the paperwork is being sent."
— Lance Pugmire (@latimespugmire) December 30, 2015
Pacquiao has had major financial success in the past by rehashing old opponents, notably four fights vs. Juan Manuel Marquez and three vs. Erik Morales, but a trilogy vs. Bradley doesn’t whet boxing fans’ appetite.
Adrien Broner Proves Why Bob Arum Didn't Choose Him As Pacquiao's Opponent
@latimespugmire nobody wants to watch this
— Jake Peralta (@OffTheShiit) December 30, 2015
@latimespugmire @Boab10 underwhelmed, who wants to see this again
— MS (@MS85RFC) December 30, 2015
On its face, the Bradley choice makes sense. Top Rank’s roster is thin with Al Haymon amassing a huge stable of fighters who fight almost exclusively under the PBC banner against other PBC fighters. Bradley scored a rare knockout in his last fight, stopping the previously durable Brandon Rios, who even Pacquiao was unable to put down. Bradley has also been in a number of exciting fights lately, putting himself in harm’s way in an effort to brawl and please crowds.
The problem is that the narrative of this being an important rubber match is not going to fool fight fans. When these two met in 2011 and Bradley won, it was one of the most widely panned decisions in boxing history. In their second fight, Bradley changed his style and tried to land knockout shots; instead he was peppered by Pacquiao for 12 rounds, and lost convincingly. Regardless of their records, to most fans Bradley has already lost badly to Pacquiao twice, and looking good against a sluggish, ready-to-retire Rios isn’t enough to suggest he’s ready to give Pacquiao a run. The Marquez and Morales rematches carried intrigue, because all the previous bouts were competitive.
Second, there were realistic options Top Rank had available that have not been in with Pacquiao before. The obvious one is rising star Terence Crawford, an undefeated fighter who has hit the 140-pound division with two straight knockouts. Beating Pacquiao could have established Crawford as a star, and a competitive loss would have had a similar effect to the one Mayweather had on Canelo Alvarez in 2013.
Pacquiao could have fought Amir Khan, another big name in search of a major bout. Politics likely prevented talks from getting serious, but if Mayweather and Pacquiao could come together, surely Khan couldn’t have been any more difficult.
Even Lucas Matthysse, coming off a loss to Viktor Postol in his last fight, provides a fan-friendly style, legitimate KO power, and the novelty of a new matchup.
Unfortunately for all involved, Teddy Atlas’ histrionics alone won’t be enough to carry the promotion for Pacquiao, whom everyone knows is on the way out and hasn’t knocked out an opponent in six years, and Bradley, a low-key, light-fisted grinder.
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