It’s rubber-match time for Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The historic venue hosted the first two entertaining fights, both which went for a full 12 rounds. Folks know the result of the first, where Bradley scored a controversial win on the cards before the rematch, a rather ho-hum affair in favor of Pacquiao.
Though not necessarily the most hyped fight in recent history, especially with Pacquiao coming off the loss to Floyd Mayweather, promoter Bob Arum and Top Rank have gone out of their way to make the card as attractive as possible in what might be Pacquiao’s last fight.
Here’s a look at everything to know about the pay-per-view event.
Pacquiao vs. Bradley 3
When: Saturday, April 9 at 3 p.m. ET
Where: MGM Grand, Las Vegas
TV/Live Stream: PPV>>>>>>>Bradley vs Pacquiao 3 Live Stream
About the undercard.
Top Rank has gone out of its way to make the entire lineup of fights must-see affairs by putting notable straps on the line.
Pacquiao vs. Bradley 3 Live stream
WBO world super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham is one of the sport’s notable performers right now, but won’t have an easy task against a crafty Gilberto Ramirez. Even better, the undefeated Oscar Valdez puts his strap on the line against former world champion Evgeny Gradovich.
It’s fitting, though, that with a card headlined by someone such as Pacquiao, who might retire, that Arum and Co. have had to go out of their way to showcase the sport’s future. Jose Ramirez, who fights Manuel Perez, is one of the notable prospects ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael mentioned in a writeup back in January:Catching a glimpse of the future as an appetizer before the main event isn’t a bad idea.
Pacquiao vs. Bradley 3 Live stream
Not that Arum seems too confident in the pay-per-view’s outlook, as he told Edward Chaykovsky of BoxingScene.com he expects about 700,000 buys—Pacquiao vs. Mayweather did 4.6 million.
Still, Las Vegas expects a somewhat competitive fight, as Odds Shark has Pacquiao at -308 and Bradley at +252.
What the odds might not take into account, though, is the after effects of Pacquiao’s loss to Mayweather, not to mention just how much Bradley has seemed to improve after a trainer change.
Bradley canned trainer Joel Diaz and brought on Teddy Atlas. The results were notable right away, with Bradley moving to 32-1-1 via a ninth-round knockout of Brandon Rios back in November.
Arum echoed these sentiments when explaining why folks shouldn’t have a negative reaction to a rubber match, according to Rafael:
This is a different Timothy Bradley under the aegis of Teddy Atlas. This is not me just saying that. The Bradley that fought Rios, whatever you thought about Rios, was a different fighter. It’s still Bradley, but a new Bradley with Teddy. And at this point of his career, can Manny handle that? Remember, Manny is also coming off an injury.
Remember, too, that Pacquiao enters the bout after shoulder surgery. Bradley is on quite the roll after a much-needed change, while Pacquiao hasn’t fought in almost 11 months after recovering from a torn rotator cuff.
Though it sounds dire, especially if Bradley truly has turned a corner after making a change, there isn’t much of a reason to think Pacquiao loses.
Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
Pacquiao has too much to lose to drop this bout.
Look at it this way—Pacquiao lost the first encounter with Bradley in such a controversial fashion that investigations were launched and two of the judges don’t perform the duty anymore. He then went on to win in a relatively boring affair the next time out.
Now Pacquiao, 37 years old, has a legacy to fight for. He’s looking at this potentially being his last fight should he get elected in the political realm, and if not, he might want to ensure he wins on the chance he can lure Mayweather out of retirement.
Pacquiao has responded to a loss well in the past, going on a three-fight streak after the knockout at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez. This time he has even more to fight for, regardless of whether this is goodbye.
Look for Pacquiao to go headhunting and score the knockout now that he’s healthy and motivated by those factors.
The historic venue hosted the first two entertaining fights, both which went for a full 12 rounds. Folks know the result of the first, where Bradley scored a controversial win on the cards before the rematch, a rather ho-hum affair in favor of Pacquiao.
Though not necessarily the most hyped fight in recent history, especially with Pacquiao coming off the loss to Floyd Mayweather, promoter Bob Arum and Top Rank have gone out of their way to make the card as attractive as possible in what might be Pacquiao’s last fight.
Here’s a look at everything to know about the pay-per-view event.
Pacquiao vs. Bradley 3
When: Saturday, April 9 at 3 p.m. ET
Where: MGM Grand, Las Vegas
TV/Live Stream: PPV>>>>>>>Bradley vs Pacquiao 3 Live Stream
About the undercard.
Top Rank has gone out of its way to make the entire lineup of fights must-see affairs by putting notable straps on the line.
Pacquiao vs. Bradley 3 Live stream
WBO world super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham is one of the sport’s notable performers right now, but won’t have an easy task against a crafty Gilberto Ramirez. Even better, the undefeated Oscar Valdez puts his strap on the line against former world champion Evgeny Gradovich.
It’s fitting, though, that with a card headlined by someone such as Pacquiao, who might retire, that Arum and Co. have had to go out of their way to showcase the sport’s future. Jose Ramirez, who fights Manuel Perez, is one of the notable prospects ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael mentioned in a writeup back in January:Catching a glimpse of the future as an appetizer before the main event isn’t a bad idea.
Pacquiao vs. Bradley 3 Live stream
Not that Arum seems too confident in the pay-per-view’s outlook, as he told Edward Chaykovsky of BoxingScene.com he expects about 700,000 buys—Pacquiao vs. Mayweather did 4.6 million.
Still, Las Vegas expects a somewhat competitive fight, as Odds Shark has Pacquiao at -308 and Bradley at +252.
What the odds might not take into account, though, is the after effects of Pacquiao’s loss to Mayweather, not to mention just how much Bradley has seemed to improve after a trainer change.
Bradley canned trainer Joel Diaz and brought on Teddy Atlas. The results were notable right away, with Bradley moving to 32-1-1 via a ninth-round knockout of Brandon Rios back in November.
Arum echoed these sentiments when explaining why folks shouldn’t have a negative reaction to a rubber match, according to Rafael:
This is a different Timothy Bradley under the aegis of Teddy Atlas. This is not me just saying that. The Bradley that fought Rios, whatever you thought about Rios, was a different fighter. It’s still Bradley, but a new Bradley with Teddy. And at this point of his career, can Manny handle that? Remember, Manny is also coming off an injury.
Remember, too, that Pacquiao enters the bout after shoulder surgery. Bradley is on quite the roll after a much-needed change, while Pacquiao hasn’t fought in almost 11 months after recovering from a torn rotator cuff.
Though it sounds dire, especially if Bradley truly has turned a corner after making a change, there isn’t much of a reason to think Pacquiao loses.
Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
Pacquiao has too much to lose to drop this bout.
Look at it this way—Pacquiao lost the first encounter with Bradley in such a controversial fashion that investigations were launched and two of the judges don’t perform the duty anymore. He then went on to win in a relatively boring affair the next time out.
Now Pacquiao, 37 years old, has a legacy to fight for. He’s looking at this potentially being his last fight should he get elected in the political realm, and if not, he might want to ensure he wins on the chance he can lure Mayweather out of retirement.
Pacquiao has responded to a loss well in the past, going on a three-fight streak after the knockout at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez. This time he has even more to fight for, regardless of whether this is goodbye.
Look for Pacquiao to go headhunting and score the knockout now that he’s healthy and motivated by those factors.