Pacquiao Not Surprised That Bradley Defeated Marquez

By Keith Idec

Manny Pacquiao wasn’t surprised when he found out Timothy Bradley out-boxed Juan Manuel Marquez on Oct. 12 in Las Vegas.

“I didn’t watch the fight with Marquez and Bradley, but I heard what happened,” Pacquiao said from his training camp in the Philippines. “I already predicted that Bradley would win the fight, so I’m not surprised with what happened.”

Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KOs) also said he hasn’t given much thought to whether he would want a fifth fight against Marquez or a rematch against Bradley after boxing Brandon Rios (31-1-1, 23 KOs) in an HBO Pay-Per-View main event Nov. 23 in Macau, China. Marquez knocked Pacquiao unconscious in the sixth round of their Dec. 8 bout in Las Vegas, but Bradley (31-0, 12 KOs, 1 NC) owns a very controversial split-decision win over Pacquiao and is more marketable after overcoming Mexico’s Marquez (55-7-1, 40 KOs) by split decision in their 12-round fight for Bradley’s WBO welterweight title.

“Right now, I’m not thinking about the next fight,” said Pacquiao, who hasn’t fought since Marquez knocked him out 10½ months ago. “What I have right now is focus on my training and making sure I give a good fight, making sure that the victory is mine.”

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.