By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – Terence Crawford realizes he is in the minority, but he is certain Timothy Bradley will beat Manny Pacquiao in their third fight.
“He’s going to win,” Crawford said before a press conference Tuesday to officially announce his Feb. 27 fight against Hank Lundy in The Theater at Madison Square Garden (HBO).
When asked why he thinks Bradley will win, Crawford simply said, “Because he’s going to win.”
Crawford (27-0, 19 KOs) also is among a minority of observers that think Bradley beat Pacquiao in their first fight, in which Bradley was awarded a very controversial split decision in June 2012.
“I thought he won,” said Crawford, who considers Bradley a close friend. “I didn’t score the fight. I just watched the fight and I can’t remember the score. But I know he won.”
The unbeaten WBO super lightweight champion acknowledges, though, that Pacquiao deserved the unanimous decision victory he earned in their April 2014 rematch at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
“[Bradley] lost the second fight,” Crawford said. “He was winning the early rounds, and he changed up his game plan. I think he hurt Pacquiao early, in the second round, and he just started going for the knockout after he hurt his calf.”
Since he feels Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) and Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs, 1 NC) each was awarded a deserved victory in their first two fights, Crawford doesn’t understand why their third welterweight title fight, scheduled for April 9 at MGM Grand, has drawn such intense criticism.
“I’m happy Tim got it,” Crawford said. “Tim deserves it. Tim is one of those fighters who’s been putting his life on the line his whole career, beat a lot of good fighters and did a lot of great things in boxing, and never got the credit he deserves. Never.”
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
