By Ryan Burton
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum recently announced that Tim Bradley and Terence Crawford were the favorites to face eight division beltholder Manny Pacquiao on April 9th, in what will likely be the Filipino star's final fight.
Bradley, who holds the WBO welterweight title, surprised many when he said that he would rather see his good friend Crawford (27-0, 19KOs) get a shot at Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38KOs) rather than face the Filipino icon in a trilogy bout. Crawford is the WBO's champion at 140-pounds.
"I wouldn't mind seeing a young lion get a shot at Pacquiao before Pacquiao leaves. Terence Crawford is a good friend of mine and I would like to see him get that shot. But of course I would fight Pacquiao in a rubber match," said Bradley.
Bradley gives his friend a good shot at defeating Pacquiao, sighting the recent surgery that he underwent.
Pacquiao injured his right shoulder back on May 2nd, during the twelve round decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. He underwent surgery a few days later.
"I think Crawford has a very good chance of beating Manny Pacquiao. We don't know how Manny Pacquiao is going to come back," Bradley told BoxingScene.com.
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