Seven Reasons Why Pacquiao-Bradley Will Be More Exciting Than Mayweather-Cotto

There’s no doubt Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto put on a great show a few weekends ago. Fight fans actually saw a bloodied and swollen Mayweather, they saw “Money May” engage a tough, forward-moving fighter and, in the end, they saw Mayweather putting his foot down and trying to close in the last round.

It was one of Mayweather’s more impressive fan-friendly fights.

But there is something coming up June 9 at the same MGM Grand venue as Mayweather vs. Cotto, when Manny Pacquiao faces undefeated Tim Bradley.

Here are seven reasons why Pacquiao vs. Bradley will be a better fight than the performance we saw from Mayweather vs. Cotto.

7. Bradley Will Keep Coming Forward

Bradley is relentless. He will keep coming forward. He’s 28-0 (12 KOs) and is determined to stay undefeated. That’s what makes this fight intriguing.

Bradley doesn’t discourage easily. He’s slightly shorter than “Pac-Man,” and will be willing to take some punishment each time he penetrates Pac-Man’s punching zone. But he is willing to take that risk, whereas other opponents Pacquiao has recently faced have not (with the exception of Juan Manuel Marquez).

6. Pacquiao’s Ability Is Slipping

There were a lot of questions about Pac-Man’s training camp in preparation for the Marquez fight. Did he train as hard as he had in the past? Were there days he skipped because of other commitments, politically and socially?

Success often makes fighters soft. Pacquiao could argue, with some justification, that success never hindered his passion for boxing. That deep down he’s still the same kid who once had to sell cigarettes on a General Santos City street corner to pay the bills and live.

Pac-Man is living very well today. He’s a politician, a corporation all unto himself, with many, many, many hands pulling on him and at him at once.

Has the strain of that deflated some passion?

5. Styles Mesh

These are two high-energy guys that like going at it. There may be more than a few rounds that sees Bradley vs. Pacquiao throwing at each other in the center of the ring, when the bell ending the round interrupts the action.

In Mayweather vs. Cotto, you either saw one fighter stalking the other, or Mayweather waiting for Cotto to come forward and counter his attacks.

4. Pacquiao Fights for Something Greater

Like Muhammad Ali in the 1960s, Pac-Man fights for something greater than himself, and that’s his country, the Philippines. It’s extremely important for him each time he enters the ring to win for the countless millions of Filipinos that worship his every move.

Cotto is very proud of his Puerto Rican heritage, but Pacquiao is the Philippines. And it’s a responsibility that he takes seriously. It’s that desire that’s enabled him in recent years to overcome the myriad sycophants that surround him.

3. Pacquiao Is Always in Exciting Fights

There is a reason why Pacquiao is considered the top fighter pound-for-pound in the world in some circles, though Mayweather has proven that throne is his, and that’s because Manny fights to please.

Pacquiao’s major issue is he hasn’t stopped an opponent in his last four fights. You have to go back to November 2009 to find the last time Pacquiao finished an opponent inside the distance, which happened to be a weight-weakened Cotto.

Pac-Man may want to go all out here and stop an undefeated fighter like Bradley. Though Mayweather and Pacquiao is much talked about, and the two never faced each other—and may never face each other, they’re still fighting each other every time they face someone else.

Mayweather won’t be able to watch the Pacquiao vs. Bradley fight, since he’s scheduled to be in the Clark County Detention Center on June 1, if you believe that, but he’ll be the most interested party in knowing how good Pac-Man looked. It will be up to Pac-Man to send a message to Mayweather, using Bradley as his foil.

2. Bradley Has Nothing to Lose

Win or lose, Bradley wins if he puts on a good performance. Bradley wasn’t handed anything coming up. He never had the big push early in his career from an Olympic pedigree or signed with a big promoter.

Everything Bradley has he’s earned. This is the biggest reason why this fight will be more exciting than Mayweather vs. Cotto. Because a lifelong fighter like Bradley is fighting for his career—and in his mind, for his life. Cotto put on a fine performance against Money May, but he also knew that if he lost, he’d still have opportunities.

Bradley knows a great performance against a great fighter means more opportunities because more sports fans will know who he is after the fight. There will be more of a demand for the fighter that gave “Pacquiao all kinds of hell.”

1. No Justin Bieber

There’s no Hollywood about this fight. It’s a fight fan’s fight and it why it’s so appealing. There will be no Justin Biebers carrying championship belts into the ring for either of these two.

They care about the fight, not the frizzle surrounding it. Just two guys who love to fight going at it. How refreshing is that?