Manny Pacquiao took care of business Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, peppering Timothy Bradley for 12 rounds and winning a lopsided unanimous decision over "Desert Storm" that put to bed the controversy of their first matchup back in 2012.
Pacquiao was unable to score a knockout, or even a knockdown, but Bradley's reputation for an iron chin worked in Manny's favor in that respect. He was as dominant Saturday night as he was for much of his bout with Brandon Rios, and the step up in quality from Rios to Bradley proved he might be back.
And if Manny's back so will the catcalls for a super fight between the Pacman and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Pacquiao didn't mention Floyd in his post-fight interview with HBO's Max Kellerman though, and it's no secret that Top Rank CEO Bob Arum is very interested in a fifth bout between Pacquiao and his longtime rival Juan Manuel Marquez.
Marquez is slated to fight Mike Alvarado on May 17, while Mayweather's set to fight Marcos Maidana on May 3. It's unlikely a Mayweather fight will occur for a number of reasons that won't disappear just because Manny looked great. Floyd fights exclusively for Showtime, and unless some efforts have been made behind the scenes to squash a long-standing beef, Mayweather and Arum refuse to work with one another.
Marquez has shown a distaste for a fifth bout, preferring to let their history, and a perceived string of injustices, close out on his sensational knockout in 2013. He preferred to re-match Bradley, who also defeated him, but "Desert Storm" chose Pacquiao instead.
Having conquered Bradley finally, and with most boxing observers pegging him the winner in the first go-round, a third "rubber match" won't be a big deal. A Marquez fight figures to do bigger numbers, so that's the route Arum is expected to go.
He was quoted in February saying, "I would love to do Pacquiao-Marquez. Pacquiao has to win this fight and Marquez says he'll fight him. So it's a big incentive for Pacquiao...He'll fight the winner of this fight to win the belt."
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