Manny Pacquiao: I Need To Prove Something in This Fight

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

Eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao wants to win convincingly in what he announced will be his  farewell fight against Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 9.

In an interview with Crystina Poncher of Top Rank, Pacquiao said “I need to prove something in this fight. I need to win convincingly.”

Pacquiao said the long layoff since the May 2, 2015 showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr in what turned out to be a disappointing “Fight of the Century” was the longest break in his career  and added that he had a good rest and that “when you get back into training you are hungry and excited to get back. Its like starting over again .”

He noted that Bradley has a new trainer in veteran Teddy Atlas and he believes Atlas “will bring something different from the last two fights. I’ll be ready for that and will make sure I am in one hundred percent condition  for the fight..”

Pacquiao considers Bradley  to have “improved a lot" and made it clear "I am not underestimating him. I need to make sacrifices in training for this fight. I need to put in hard work in training and will make sure the fans are happy on fight night.”

As always he emphasized that his concern was “the satisfaction and enjoyment of the fans and I don’t want to disappoint them.”

While there are those who think Manny has “cooled down in preparation” for the third fight with Bradley, he wants to prove that “the hunger and aggressiveness is still there.”