Bradley: Pacquiao is the one with everything to lose

By Chris Williams: Welterweight title challenger Timothy Bradley (28-0, 12 KO’s) doesn’t see himself as the one with all the pressure on him in his June 9th fight against WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KO’s). Bradley, 28, sees Pacquiao as being the one with the weight of the world on him because he’s starting to show signs of wear and tear from his many battles, and its’ happening all at the wrong time.

Bradley told fightsaga.com “He’s [Pacquiao] the one that has everything to lose. If he has another lackluster performance, its’ basically over for him. I’m going to have to adjust for whatever it is he’s going to try and do and I’m real good at it. I’ve got something for whatever he wants to do.”

Bradley will be facing Pacquiao at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada in what will probably be a packed house of Pacquiao fans. I don’t know that I agree with Bradley that it will be all over for Pacquiao if he has another off night when he faces him, because Pacquiao will likely get the benefit of the doubt if the fight is close or or slightly close. I can see Pacquiao still winning even if Bradley fights well enough to win by four rounds. I just think it’s going to be awfully tough for Bradley to get a decision unless he really makes Pacquiao look old. But I don’t see Pacquiao retiring if he looks awful again, because he’s been content with his close controversial decision wins against Juan Manuel Marquez in 2008 and 2011. One more controversial decision likely won’t do a thing to make Pacquiao retire if he doesn’t want to. Bradley will have to really beat him badly for Pacquiao to retire.

Pacquiao has had leg problems in his recent fights with him cramping up. Supposedly his strength trainer Alex Ariza is going to try and make sure that doesn’t happen for the next fight by getting Pacquiao in extra good shape for the fight, but I think the leg cramps here to stay no matter what Ariza does to keep that problem from occurring again. When fighters get old like Pacquiao appears to be, they get all kinds of aches and pains that effect their performances.