Manny Pacquiao vs Timothy Bradley: How Desert Storm Earned Fight Against Pac-Man

Timothy Bradley will face the biggest challenge of his career against Manny Pacquiao on June 9. After an eight-year professional career, he will finally get his chance to move into the elite class of boxers.

He earned the opportunity with several impressive victories en route to a 28-0 career record. He has never faced somebody on the same level as Pacquiao, but that doesn't make his extended unbeaten streak any less impressive.

Bradley has slowly climbed his way up the ladder, picking up his first marquee victory three years ago against Lamont Peterson and really started gaining steam from there.

He beat Joel Casamayor in his first Las Vegas fight late last year, proving that the added pressure of the bright lights and bigger crowd didn't have an impact on him. He scored a knockout in the Round 9, which really helped put him on the radar.

So when talks once again broke down between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., Bradley was able to secure a spot against Pacquiao thanks to his strong run, especially recently.

The 28-year-old American doesn't possess a lot of power. He has just 12 knockouts among his 28 victories. Instead, he relies on solid defense and counterattacks to win rounds, and it has worked to perfection for him so far.

Going up against Pacquiao will be a completely new experience for him, though. The Filipino sensation hasn't lost a fight in more than seven years despite going up against some of the sport's biggest names, including Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley.

That provides Bradley with an opportunity to illustrate that he deserves more big fights moving forward. He doesn't have to win to make that happen, but he must showcase enough skill to make it seem like he belongs in the same ring with one of the top boxers on Earth.

It took him eight years of putting his body on the line to earn one chance. That should give him plenty of reason to put on the best show he can and be a dangerous opponent for the heavily-favored Pacquiao.

Regardless of the outcome, it will have a bigger impact on Bradley's career than any other fight.