Pacquiao vs. Bradley: Fight with Desert Storm Will Fall Flat

Any fight that Manny Pacquiao has with a man other than Floyd Mayweather will be a letdown. You can talk about whatever matchups you want, but the bottom line is that if it isn't Mayweather, the fight will fizzle. 

This is precisely the case with Timothy Bradley who, according to ESPN's Dan Rafael, will fight Manny Pacquiao on June 9. Sure, Bradley is a perfect 28-0, but there are far more reasons that this fight will not deliver. 

Bradley is a light welterweight

This is not a small problem. Bradley's record has come against lighter opponents. That means that he is not taking big hits or delivering them. The only proof you need of that is the fact that of Bradley's 28 wins, only 12 have come via knockout. 

Stepping in the ring with an elite welterweight in Pacquiao is going to be a rough adjustment. Pac-Man's punches are going to be a lot harder than he has ever taken in previous fights. That will keep Bradley from controlling the action, which he needs to do to win the fight. 

It will be a bland fight

This ties in with the first problem, but this is not going to be the 12-round slug fest that we saw from Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. 

Bradley doesn't have anywhere near the history to hang with Pacquiao for 12 rounds. The most encouraging sign we have seen from him is a knockout win over 40-year-old, Joel Casamayor, in November. 

Pacquiao will have no problem controlling this fight for the duration. We are not going to see any significant action. It will look like a heavyweight bout but will not produce the same pop. 

He isn't Floyd Mayweather

This is the biggest problem and there isn't a close second. Any fight that Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather have with any opponents apart from each other will be a letdown. 

Pacquiao is 33 while Mayweather will be 35 at the end of February. The window is running out for these two to come together and fight while they are in their primes. At this rate, this fight will either never happen, or at least one of the two fighters will be past his prime. 

Nothing good can come from Pacquiao fighting Bradley.

Option one is that Pacquiao wins the fight, which is what he is supposed to do. So what? It doesn't go a good job setting anything up for the future. It would just be one in a long line of second-tier opponents that Pacquiao has defeated. 

Option two is that Bradley wins. In terms of getting a fight with Mayweather, this may not be the worst thing. Still, that fight would lose a lot of its pizzazz if Pacquiao (or Mayweather) loses before that bout ever takes place.  

Pacquaio and Mayweather need to make a fight happen as soon as Money gets out of jail. If that happens, these two have a chance to remain interesting. Until then, every fight that either man takes will be a disappointment. 

Follow @mdixon1985