Pacquiao vs. Bradley: Why a Pac-Man Loss Would Ruin Incredible Career

Boxing is a cruel sport. You are only as good as your last fight.

Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KOs) is one of the best pound-for-pound boxers of the last two decades, but enters Saturday’s fight against Timothy Bradley (28-0, 12 KOs) with plenty of critics doubting him.

His last fight was an extremely controversial win over an aging Juan Manuel Marquez, where there was no question he was not the sharp puncher we have all come to expect. He blamed distractions in his personal life as the reason, which is a problem considering he has been forced to deal with the backlash of his gay marriage comments made last month.

So he enters the ring with skeptical boxing fans keeping a close eye on him and the general American public angry with his comments.

As long as he wins it’s all good. Everything will be forgotten and the ongoing debate of a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout will rage on. Win No. 55 will be just another footnote in one of the most storied boxing careers of all time.

If he loses, his legacy will be in tatters.

While Desert Storm is certainly a worthy opponent, he has never fought anybody near the talent level of Pac-Man, on top of the fact he has much less experience. He has no business being the guy that snaps his 15-bout winning streak that dates back to 2005.

If Pacquiao does lose, a rematch clause will force the two to tango once again in the fall/winter. If Pacquiao wins that, Round 3 would potentially be in order.

A loss on Saturday would really kill the buzz surrounding a potential fight against Money May, the last remaining task on Pac-Man’s career resume.

It has been the ongoing debate for seemingly forever now, and the buzz surrounding the fight of the decade would take a serve blow if one of them came in fresh off a loss—especially a loss to a boxer previously unknown to causal boxing fans.

A loss to Bradley would be the lasting memory we would have of Pacquaio’s boxing career. He intends to run for governor of Sarangani in 2013. The time commitment will likely end his boxing career.

The stage is set.

Pacquaio needs to beat Bradley and take on Money May once and for all at the end of the year to finally cement his legacy. Losing to Bradley would ruin everything and leave boxing fans with a bitter taste in their mouths when he decides to hang up his gloves.

There is a ton of pressure on Pacquiao. A win is expected. A loss would be devastating. 

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