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The long awaited rematch between Timothy Bradley Jr. and Manny Pacquiao is finally upon us. The pair of elite welterweights square off Saturday evening at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, at the same venue which hosted their hotly contested 12-round battle in June 2012.
Bradley appeared in his first pay-per-view event at the time, and escaped with a highly controversial split decision win that most felt should have easily landed in favor of Pacquiao. The official verdict ended a seven-year unbeaten run for Pacquiao, who lost his welterweight title but was still viewed as one of the two best fighters in the world despite the outcome.
His next fight knocked him from his pedestal, however. Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38KO) suffered a shocking 6th round knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in their fourth battle later that December. The next 11 months were spent reloading, returning to the ring last November to score a landslide decision over Brandon Rios.
Bradley (31-0, 12KO) enjoyed a banner year in 2013. The sculpted Californian made two successful defenses of his welterweight title. The first was the bravest of efforts, climbing off the canvas and spending most of the night fighting through a concussion to outpoint Ruslan Provodnikov in their March ’13 encounter, recognized by Boxingscene.com as the 2013 Fight of the Year.
His next bout was just as close, yet an easier night at the office as he won a hard-fought, well-deserved decision over Marquez in their pay-per-view headliner last October.
Now well-versed on the sport’s biggest stage, Bradley’s confidence is soaring at an all-time high. Yet, he still enters Saturday’s bout as a 2-1 underdog and forced to prove that he can win a clean decision.
There also exists a burden of proof with Pacquiao, who needs to convince the boxing world that he still belongs in discussion among the sport’s very best active fighter and that his best years aren’t forever in the past.
Will the sport’s most popular global icon gain sweet revenge? Or will the unbeaten defending titlist continue his winning ways?
Read on to see how the staff at Boxingscene.com believes the action will go down in the year’s first truly big pay-per-view. [Click Here To Read More]
Bradley appeared in his first pay-per-view event at the time, and escaped with a highly controversial split decision win that most felt should have easily landed in favor of Pacquiao. The official verdict ended a seven-year unbeaten run for Pacquiao, who lost his welterweight title but was still viewed as one of the two best fighters in the world despite the outcome.
His next fight knocked him from his pedestal, however. Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38KO) suffered a shocking 6th round knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in their fourth battle later that December. The next 11 months were spent reloading, returning to the ring last November to score a landslide decision over Brandon Rios.
Bradley (31-0, 12KO) enjoyed a banner year in 2013. The sculpted Californian made two successful defenses of his welterweight title. The first was the bravest of efforts, climbing off the canvas and spending most of the night fighting through a concussion to outpoint Ruslan Provodnikov in their March ’13 encounter, recognized by Boxingscene.com as the 2013 Fight of the Year.
His next bout was just as close, yet an easier night at the office as he won a hard-fought, well-deserved decision over Marquez in their pay-per-view headliner last October.
Now well-versed on the sport’s biggest stage, Bradley’s confidence is soaring at an all-time high. Yet, he still enters Saturday’s bout as a 2-1 underdog and forced to prove that he can win a clean decision.
There also exists a burden of proof with Pacquiao, who needs to convince the boxing world that he still belongs in discussion among the sport’s very best active fighter and that his best years aren’t forever in the past.
Will the sport’s most popular global icon gain sweet revenge? Or will the unbeaten defending titlist continue his winning ways?
Read on to see how the staff at Boxingscene.com believes the action will go down in the year’s first truly big pay-per-view. [Click Here To Read More]
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