Pacquiao vs. Bradley: Why Pac-Man Must Not Lose Big Bout

For Manny Pacquiao to maintain his prestigious legacy and keep boxing's greatest potential super-fight with Floyd Mayweather alive, he must beat Timothy Bradley.

Pacquiao and Bradley will square off June 9 for the WBO Welterweight title in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand.

The fight will be the largest of Bradley's career. An undefeated light welterweight champion since 2008, Bradley has never taken on a more high-profile opponent. His most notable wins include a TKO victory over Joel Casamayor and a decision win over Kendall Holt.

In short, Bradley has nothing to lose in this fight. Sure, he's undefeated, but a loss to Pacquiao is nothing to be ashamed of and in the long run won't hurt his status as a top light welterweight.

On the other hand, Pacquiao comes into this fight with very little to gain (other than a huge paycheck) and a whole lot to lose in terms of his legacy.

Unlike Mayweather, Pacquiao does have some losses on his record. The title of "undefeated" was erased from his resume a long time ago. However, two of his losses came very early in his career and have little impact on his place in boxing history. His third loss was to a legend in Erik Morales, who Pacquiao went on to defeat by TKO in both the rematch and their third encounter.

A loss to Bradley would be devastating for Pacquiao. Bradley is by no means a legend and still has a long way to go before he is mentioned in the same sentence as the best boxers of all time. A loss to Bradley would cause Pacquiao to lose all the momentum that he's built with his dominance over the years, and would indirectly settle the pound-for-pound debate between he and Mayweather.

A loss to Bradley would cost Pacquiao his aura of dominance, his place in the pound-for-pound rankings, a shot at Mayweather and, in turn, a ton of money. Pac-Man must come through and defeat Bradley on June 9.