Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley: Fight Time, Tickets, Scorecard Predictions
Timothy Bradley has to hope for a bit of a passing-of-the-torch moment Saturday in Las Vegas against Manny Pacquiao.
It's an odd tone for the pay-per-view, really, considering Bradley has already defeated Pacquiao once, but that win might as well not even be official with how folks talk about it in hindsight.
Alas, Saturday presents a rubber match where Bradley will look to elevate his career and Pacquiao will look to end his on a high note, should other endeavors work out after a victory.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
When it comes to scorecards and predictions, it takes a bit of a deep dive to figure this one out.
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
| 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 |
Scorecard Predictions
Any person offering an opinion on Saturday's main event has to slap a pretty large disclaimer on things—this isn't a normal fight.
Pacquiao isn't one to take an 11-month break, but he did this time due to an injury after the sloppy loss to Floyd Mayweather. As for Bradley, he's got a new trainer on board for the first time in his career, and it got him a TKO his last time out, meaning he's far from the same guy who took and lost a decision when these two first met.
It's also not usual because Pacquiao made it pretty clear to ESPN.com's Dan Rafael he views this fight as a must-win bout if he's to retire and get elected in the political realm.
That's the major storylines out of the way, but what's certainly not forgotten is how motivation might play into the outcome, and the numbers and trends say quite a lot.
Like the simple number that says only 13 of Bradley's 33 wins have come via knockout. Yet Bradley scored a TKO his last time out against Brandon Rios, his first time under the instruction of new trainer Teddy Atlas.
There, Bradley nickeled and dimed his way to a win, eventually landing a body shot that called off the rest of the bout, something even Pacquiao couldn't do to Rios a few years back.
“Having Teddy is like having a cheat sheet, honestly,” Bradley said, according to Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole. “Using his knowledge is like having a cheat sheet. He analyzes fights and sees weaknesses and habits in opponents and he broke it all down. I feel like I have a cheat sheet going into this fight.”
Atlas and Bradley have a dangerous thing at their disposal—a 24-round extensive breakdown of Pacquiao.
Of course, Pacquiao has the same, and ask most anyone, he's really 2-0 over those 24 rounds, the odd first split decision one of the most controversial finishes in recent history.
Numbers say, too, that his bout against Mayweather wasn't a good indication of where he's at in his career and at his age. Malik Smith of ESPN Stats & Information compared the data:
"Pacquiao was noticeably less active in his last fight due to a bad shoulder. He landed 81 total punches against Floyd Mayweather, his fewest in a 12-round fight in the past seven years. Pacquiao averaged 7.2 combinations thrown per round against Mayweather, compared to 11.8 in his previous five fights.
"
If Pacquiao is back to full health and can reach his usual career numbers, it's hard to see how Atlas can make too much of a difference for a fighter who was always outclassed and stuck on the defensive in the face of greater speed over the first two bouts.
Pair the last fights with Pacquiao's career numbers and things get iffy for Bradley. Now bring those storylines back into play, Pacquiao needing a victory to win an election, Pacquiao refusing to lose two fights in a row and boast a losing record to Bradley.
Heck, the fact if Pacquiao winds up losing an election, maybe, just maybe, he and his guys try to coax Mayweather out of retirement.
All of that goes up in flames with a loss. Presuming he's healthy and with everything (almost literally) on the line, Pacquiao will look for a knockout and eventually get it in the 10th round after dominating most of the fight.
Call it the perfect ending to a career, the perfect segue to something else. Pacquiao won't let the scorecards and judges dictate his going-away bout.
Scorecard Prediction: 86-84 Pacquiao before 10th-round knockout
Odds via Odds Shark.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
