by David P. Greisman

HBO’s longtime unofficial ringside judge Harold Lederman caught up with BoxingScene.com on June 6, talking the results of the April rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley, as well as what he thinks, briefly, about potential bouts between Pacquiao against Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez.

BoxingScene.com: What did you think of Manny Pacquiao’s performance in the rematch with Tim Bradley?

Lederman: “I thought Manny won as easily as he won the first time. It was a little bit closer. Bradley won a few more rounds than he won the first time. The first time, I had it 11-1, so I thought Manny virtually shut him out. The second time was a little bit closer, but Pacquiao won big. Manny is a sensational fighter. I love the way he turns his opponents. You know, he’s a southpaw and he keeps turning you. He turns this way. He turns that way. And in the meantime, he’s hitting you.

“You know, he’s a very tough guy to fight. He’d be a great fight for Floyd Mayweather, because he’d have Floyd Mayweather turning in circles, undoubtedly. Floyd, of course, would have the advantage in hand speed, so, you know, it’d be a sensational fight.”

BoxingScene.com: I know there’s talk about Pacquiao going down to 140 from 147. Do you think that’s the right move for him?

Lederman: “Manny’s a small guy. I mean, you look at him, you say, ‘126 pounds.’ You look at him, he looks like such a small guy. So at 147, absolutely no problem. I think Manny’s competitive with anybody at 147. And if you ask me who I’d like to see, I’d like to see Manny and Keith Thurman. I’d love it.”

BoxingScene.com: I’d seen rumors about maybe Pacquiao and Canelo Alvarez, but I was thinking that might be a little too much.

Lederman: “You know, Canelo Alvarez at junior middleweight, there’s no question, you look at the kid, that kid’s a star. He’s a very, very good fighter. You look at him and you see Canelo’s at least a 154-pounder. He can’t go below ’54. There’s no way he’s going to come down to ’52 to fight Manny. You know, they can’t make a catch-weight. Canelo’s really a ’54 pounder. He moves very, very well. I’m really looking forward to Canelo and Erislandy Lara. There’s no doubt about it, it’s going to be a very, very good fight.

“I’d love to see Canelo fight Manny, but I think maybe Canelo’s a little too big. But then again, I said the same thing when he [Canelo] fought Mayweather. I thought he was too big for Floyd.”

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