Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley 3 Fight Time, Tickets and PPV Coverage Guide

Saturday might be goodbye for Manny Pacquiao.

Kobe Bryant gets the attention in this regard as his own career winds down, but it's Pacquiao who could say goodbye even sooner when he takes to the MGM Grand for a rubber match with Timothy Bradley.

The globe hasn't seen Pacquiao in the ring since he took the loss at the hands of Floyd Mayweather. One shoulder injury later and plenty of dabbling in politics that could end his boxing career, Pacquiao looks to put away a new-look Bradley.

Pacquiao vs. Bradley 3

When: Saturday, April 9 at 9 p.m. ET

Where: MGM Grand, Las Vegas

TV/Live Stream: PPV

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

Matchup	Type
Arthur Abraham vs. Gilberto Ramirez	WBO world super middleweight title
Oscar Valdez vs. Evgeny Gradovich	WBO/NABO featherweight title
Jose Ramirez vs. Manuel Perez	WBC Continental Americas junior welterweight
Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley	Vacant WBO international welterweight title

Pacquiao gets the majority of the attention here for good reason, retirement angle or not.

The past 11 months or so have been odd, to say the least, because the globe isn't accustomed to seeing Pacquiao take such a long break. It wasn't to lick wounds from a mental standpoint, but to recover from an injury and find a suitable opponent.

Now healthy, Pacquiao sounds back to his normal self, as Top Rank Boxing captured:

The suitable opponent is Bradley. As ESPN.com's Dan Rafael explained, Pacquiao has sworn this is his final fight and it's a must-win scenario because a loss would hurt his chances in an election: 

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Pacquiao said he believes beating Bradley will give him a boost as he runs for senate in the Philippines' national election, in which he is aiming to win a seat in the 24-person body, 12 of which are up for election in May.

He will return to his homeland following the fight to campaign in earnest. A win over Bradley sure would help, he said. Asked if a win would help his chances in the election, Pacquiao answered, "Yes."

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Agree or not, it's clear Pacquiao has begun to let his mind drift to post-boxing life in earnest. 

Not Bradley. 

Bradley is ready to take the next step in his career. Thus far, Pacquiao has been the focal point of his career progression. He has a 1-1 mark against the legend right now, but folks know the drill—Bradley won a controversial decision in the first fight, one spawning investigations and judges no longer with the sport before losing the second one via another similar, obvious-seeming decision.

It has come full circle for Bradley now with this one last chance to put Pacquiao behind him with an emphatic win and continue to climb the ladder. Such has been the message around the fight from his camp since the beginning, as CNN Philippines recorded:

Bradley has been mostly stuck in neutral since the loss to Pacquiao, fighting to a draw with Diego Gabriel Chaves before a unanimous decision against Jessie Vargas.

Then Bradley made a change, bringing on trainer Teddy Atlas and going on to score his first TKO since 2011 in a win against Brandon Rios last November. 

Atlas' arrival doesn't necessarily infuse Bradley's fists with newfound strength, but it's yet another wild card about this fight that adds a dash of flavor to what is otherwise a boring, seemingly unnecessary third iteration.

Nick Ut/Associated Press

Among other surprising factors is simply the fact the globe cannot know how great Pacquiao's rehabbed shoulder looks until he climbs in the ring. It all sounds good now, but everything sounded much of the same before the fight with Mayweather.

It's more than a few "What if?" scenarios to watch out for, which is what a smaller card needs. Top Rank has gone out of its way to strike a nice balance with this card, boasting the top of the sport with the main event and the future with top prospects such as Arthur Abraham and Oscar Valdez.

Hyped and asked for or not, this isn't a pay-per-view to sleep on this year. Pacquiao has thrown an incredible weight of importance behind the bout, extending much farther into his personal life than ever before. Bradley has done much of the same in a career-outlook sense.

Only one can win, with the future of the sport very much hinging on the outcome.

Odds via Odds Shark.