By Chuy Marco
Once it was announced that Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao was going to fight Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley on June 9, 2012, I already felt it was a cash out fight for Bob Arum and Top Rank. There is no way that a one dimensional fighter like Pacquiao is going to be able to defeat a young, strong, undefeated boxer like Bradley.
The great Mexican counter-puncher Juan Manuel Marquez already defeated Pacquiao three times, and got robbed. All you have to do is watch Manny Pacquiao versus Shane Mosley, Erik Morales (the first fight when Pacquiao got beat to a pulp and lost) and the Juan Manuel Marquez trilogy to realize that Pacquiao is not a smart fighter and very easy to beat up.
But the main reason why I have Timothy Bradley defeating Manny Pacquiao is because of the Agapito Sanchez fight. When Manny Pacquiao fought Agapito Sanchez in 2001 he was in with a guy who was very slick and crafty, Agapito was confusing Pacquiao and using some useful dirty tactics like headbutts and low blows which cost Sanchez two points, but even with the points deducted Agapito Sanchez was still winning and hitting Pacquiao with combination punches, when they stopped the fight due to a cut it was declared a draw. One Judge had the fight in favor of Pacquiao (that judge must have been blind), one had it in favor of Sanchez which was the correct scoring, and the other had it a draw. If you watch the fight closely, you will realize that Timothy Bradley fights very much like Agapito Sanchez and if Sanchez gave Pacquiao trouble then Bradley will dominate Manny with ease.
Bradley can do all the things Sanchez does but better. Bradley has underrated power, he might not have many KO’s but when he does hurt opponents and scores knockdowns it’s usually from his right hand, most of his power is in that right hand which is Manny Pacquiao’s biggest weakness — the Pacman cannot avoid a right hand to save his life. All Bradley has to do is use his boxing skills to mix it up with Pacquiao and give him different looks. Timothy can fight on the inside and hit and clinch to prevent Manny from hitting back, and he can also move and box, Manny can only swing wild with his eyes closed while blocking punches with his face. Timothy will set up that huge overhand right and land it clean on Manny’s chin to hurt him, he will confuse Manny and toy with him because Bradley is a matador against a clueless bull. Bradley does headbutt often and that will also help him to cut Manny’s eyes, once Manny gets a cut on his eye he gets scared and wants to quit the fight. I could see Pacquiao quitting on his stool because he doesn’t have the heart to fight through pain. I think a lot of people are overrating Manny Pacquiao’s chin, the only reason he looks like he has a great chin is because he hasn’t fought anyone with actual power to test his chin, and people forget this guy has been knocked out cold by smaller men. Bradley’s right hand is a lot harder than Juan Manuel Marquez’s right hand, and we all saw how Pacquiao feared getting hit by Juan’s right hand punch, if Bradley lands he could actually put the Pacman to sleep. I don’t see this fight being competitive at all, my only worry is if the fight goes the distance they might give another gift decision to Pacquiao and rob Bradley like they did to Marquez.
Watch the full fight video on YouTube of Manny Pacquiao vs. Agapito Sanchez:
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Big time boxing fan. Grew up in East Los, and been an avid follower of the sport and the legends like Julio Cesar Chavez, Vicente Saldivar, Salvador Sanchez, Carlos Zarate, Erik Morales, Ricardo Lopez and Juan Manuel Marquez just to name a few.
Current favorite boxers: Canelo Alvarez, Mikey Garcia.