Manny Pacquiao proved he was far from done when he battered Brandon Rios in China, and now his next fight is nearly as anticipated as when he was knocking opponents out with regularity in his prime.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. rumors have run amok, but Pacquiao is denying that any of them are true. According to Pacquiao, the earliest that matchup is even possible is in 2015, when his contract with Top Rank and Bob Arum expires. With that in mind, the frontrunners to be Pacquiao's next opponent are Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley, and Ruslan "Siberian Rocky" Provodnikov.
According to The Philippine Star, Pacquiao is leaning toward a rematch with Bradley, who won a hotly disputed decision over Pacman in June of 2012. While most thought Pacquiao won the fight easily, Bradley was awarded a split decision and earned him scorn from much of the boxing community.
The loss hurt both men in some ways. Pacquiao went on to get knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez in his next fight, and put a Mayweather fight to bed with a two-fight losing streak. The contempt for Bradley after the biggest win of his career forced him into hibernation for close to a year before he resurfaced against Provodnikov.
The Provodnikov fight re-established Bradley's credibility, and enhanced his watchability. He was knocked down in the first round by Ruslan, although the referee incorrectly ruled it a slip, and was badly hurt several times throughout the fight. He squeaked out a unanimous decision, then outclassed Marquez in October of 2013.
A source "with knowledge of Pacquiao's preference" told Fighthype.com, "They're going with Tim. Neither guy [Bradley or Provodnikov] are a big draw, but with Bradley, they can at least hang their hat on the fact that there's history between the two fighters. The controversy of their first fight makes it a lot easier to sell than a fight with the Russian kid."
The source also said, "Manny can make people forget about the KO to Marquez if he himself can KO Bradley, who just beat Marquez."
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