Pacquiao vs. Bradley 2012: 3 Keys to Desert Storm Pulling off Monumental Upset

While Manny Pacquiao looked vulnerable against Juan Manuel Marquez, and many feel he is on the downside of his career, he nonetheless goes into his fight against Timothy Bradley as the prohibitive favorite.

So what does Bradley have to do to defy the odds and come away with a shocking upset over PacMan? What weaknesses in Pacquiao must he exploit, and what style must he employ to do so?

Don't get it twisted—Desert Storm has a battle in front of him. But he can win this fight, and I've got three things he needs to do to pull it off.

Defense and Counter-Punching Could Win the Day

Marquez wasn't afraid to stay inside with Pacquiao, display a solid defense and set up his own counter-punching. Rather than let PacMan work a few flurries and back away, he took the occasional punishment and then doled out a good deal of his own in return.

The strategy worked.

Now, I don't know if Bradley is as crafty or technically skilled as Marquez proved to be, so his approach to counter-punching should be different. And if he doesn't focus on maintaining a solid defense, and instead decides he can simply trade exchanges with Pacquiao, he might get himself knocked out.

But he has a solid chin, so if he's smart and generally protects himself, he'll be able to sustain the occasional punishment and shouldn't need to back down.

He isn't going to win this fight by being cute, and he knows it. Which brings us to point No. 2...

Keep on Coming

If Bradley was Floyd Mayweather, he could spend the fight on the defensive, counter-punch for points, keep his distance if things got hairy and try to win the fight by being the better technical boxer.

But he's no Money May.

Bradley needs to press forward and keep the pressure on Pacquiao. Attack, defend, counter-attack, reset. Rinse and repeat each round. Don't stop, don't slow down and don't get tentative.

Pacquiao has far more to lose in this fight than Bradley does, so Desert Storm shouldn't be afraid to leave everything on the line and take some chances in this fight. He knows he'll either need to knock Pacquiao out or unquestionably beat PacMan on points.

Because if it's too close to call, it will be called for PacMan.

Again, Bradley needs to be smart, and his defense needs to be strong. But when the opportunities arise to attack Pacquiao, he needs to pounce, and do so aggressively. Playing it safe in this fight is just another way of elongating a loss.

Rely on the Jab

Everything that Bradley does in this fight will likely stem from his effectiveness in using the jab. He can keep Pacquiao at bay by landing it efficiently, control the rhythm of the fight and use it to set up his own combinations.

Pacquiao likes to come at fighters from odd angles and attack with quick combinations. An effective, consistent jab should theoretically square him up and disrupt PacMan's general strategy. Adjusting mid-fight isn't one of Pacquiao's strengths, so anything Bradley can do to take him out of his comfort zone will be huge.

Look for Bradley to rely on his jab very heavily early in this fight to dissect weakness in PacMan's armor he can exploit later.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets will gladly have another as well.