Pacquiao vs Bradley: Why Experience Puts PacMan in Driver Seat

Manny Pacquiao may be distracted. He may be acting weird, he may be studying the Bible every night and he may not be displaying the same kind of cocksure attitude we're used to seeing from a boxer in the weeks preceding a huge fight.

But that doesn't mean Pacquiao won't dominate Timothy Bradley on June 9, because after all, he has one thing Bradley won't have for a long, long time: experience.

Pacquiao enters the fight with a 54-3-2 record and 38 knockouts, whereas Bradley—who, at 28, certainly has the edge on Pacquiao in terms of youth—is undefeated in just 28 matches with 12 knockouts.

Many are predicting this to be an upset victory for Bradley because Pacquiao has seemed "distracted" and "lackadaisical" lately, according to promoter Bob Arum and trainer Freddie Roach. On top of that, Bradley is younger and hungry because, as he told the Los Angeles Times' Lance Pugmire, "This is my only chance to be a superstar."

Bradley knows he has no choice but to beat Pacquiao if he wants to get to the next level, and Pacquiao, by all indications, is ripe for the picking.

But just because Pacquiao seems different—more reserved, less fun-loving—doesn't mean he's due for a loss. If he's spending all of his free time at home, with his family, resting and reading passages from the Bible, who's to say he won't be as mentally prepared as ever for this bout? Who's to say  his focus won't be as fine-tuned as ever?

Reserved does not necessarily equate to "distracted." Take, for instance, Pacquiao's reaction to the never-ending questions about whether he'll fight Floyd Mayweather when he arrived in Los Angeles last weekend. 

He didn't care or want to think about whether or not Mayweather beat Miguel Cotto that weekend. He only wanted to think about Bradley. He told ESPN.com's Dan Rafael: 

"

No matter what Bradley says, I still have the hunger to win. I had a great camp in the Philippines. No distractions at all. We are ready to step it up over the next four weeks at Wild Card. This is a big fight for me. I can't wait for June 9. 

"

What is more important than Pacquiao's current extracurricular activities or his current attitude is the fact that he knows how to win a big fight. He knows how to beat almost anyone who is thrown at him. He's always capable of winning, no matter how easy or how exhausting the win, as he proved when he defeated Juan Manuel Marquez in November.

Pacquiao might look like someone who's worn down and distracted, but it's only an illusion. When you're the only eight-division champion in the sport, you've earned the right to prepare however you wish to prepare.

And Bradley would be a fool to keep questioning that, because it only fuels the fire.