Manny Pacquiao: Why a Victory over Timothy Bradley Would Prove Nothing

Manny Pacquiao will square off in a WBO welterweight championship match on June 9th against Timothy Bradley.

Bradley may be undefeated and a rising star in boxing, but a Pac-Man victory would be irrelevant at this point.

As a matter of fact, a victory over any opponent but Floyd Mayweather is irrelevant.

Boxing enthusiasts have been chomping at the bit for a Pacquiao-Mayweather battle for too long. Any conclusion that does not end in their gloves meeting will be met with disgust and uncertainty in the boxing world.

Pacquiao wants to hold his WBO welterweight belt against Bradley, but everyone knows how good Pac-Man is. Even if Bradley wins, I would still consider Pacquiao the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in boxing today.

This does not mean Bradley is unworthy. He just isn't fit to uproot Pacquiao's storied career, especially with his biggest fight still to come.

Foregone Conclusions

Bradley enters the fight with 28 victories and 12 knockouts. He has never lost, but that will end soon enough.

Pacquiao has beaten many boxers with Bradley's pedigree, and beaten them handily.

Most boxers with limited power try and shutdown Pacquiao's powerful offensive assault by staying inside, clinching and keeping outside foot position.

Bradley's best bet is to adopt Juan Manuel Marquez's Pacquiao strategy. Marquez kept his feet firmly rooted on the outside and made Pacquiao overextend himself in order to reach him. This leaves cracks in Pacquiao's armor.

However, Bradley does not have Marquez's power and will not exploit weaknesses in the same way. If Pacquiao could steal victory from Marquez, who utilized the best possible strategy to defeat him, how can Bradley be expected to knock off the world's No. 2 boxer?

The answer is simple. He can't.

What is the Point?

If Pacquiao cannot prove anything by beating Bradley, then why watch the fight? One, anytime Pacquiao steps foot in the ring it is must watch television, and two, Pacquiao actually has doubters to prove wrong.

Promoter Bob Arum has said that Pacquiao is a different person. He does not seem sure of Pacquiao's focus compared to where it used to be.

Pacquiao needs to fight a focused and technically sound fight against Bradley. A victory will not portray him as a better fighter but it can show he is still on top of his game.

Bradley wants to show the boxing world that he is ready to fight big fights, and that Pacquiao is not who he once was.

Pac-man wants to show he is ready to beat the best fighter in the world. It will be his career-defining moment.

Beating 10 Tim Bradleys would not matter at this point in Pacquiao's career. He has defeated major opponents across eight different weight classes. He has nothing left to prove outside of defeating the world's No. 1 fighter.