By Edward Chaykovsky
Joel Diaz, trainer for WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, believes a trilogy fight can happen with Manny Pacquiao in the near future.
Bradley won a controversial twelve round split decision over Pacquiao in 2012 to capture the WBO belt. The Filipino superstar won their 2014 rematch and got the title back with a twelve round unanimous decision.
Pacquiao lost that belt to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May. Mayweather was stripped of the title after not paying the sanctioning fee and that allowed Bradley to recapture the vacant crown after beating Jessie Vargas last month.
Pacquiao is recovering from a shoulder injury and won't return until net year. Bradley might go on to a mandatory defense against Sadam Ali in the fall.
Bradley and Diaz expect Pacquiao to come after them, in search of regaining his lost title.
"Anything can be possible. Anything can be possible, and don’t get me wrong because Tim at one point in his career after he lost to Pacquiao the second fight he said, 'If I get that WBO title, Manny is going to come back to me again.' He doesn’t doubt it, and I don’t doubt it," Diaz told On The Ropes Boxing Radio.
They went at it twice and you know they had controversy in the first one and he beat him the second time. Tim put up a hell of a fight in the second fight and Bradley-Pacquiao 2 was a more exciting fight than Mayweather-Pacquiao. I don’t see why not go for a third one. I mean, Pacquiao fought Marquez four times."
