The time for tough talk is done, as Manny Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KO) will look to re-establish himself as the premier fighter in boxing not named Floyd Mayweather Jr. when he takes on Timothy Bradley (31-0-0, 12 KO) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas tonight on a fight card that begins at 9:00 p.m. ET. Live stream the entire card by clicking this link.
Pacquiao was once the equal to Mayweather in the pound-for-pound rankings, and in the eyes of many Floyd's superior. Then, he lost to Bradley in highly suspicious fashion, and followed that up by getting knocked out cold vs. Juan Manuel Marquez. He rebounded with a dominant win over Brandon Rios in China, but Bradley is the type of elite test to prove whether the Pacman of old is back.
Meanwhile, Bradley has kept his momentum going by winning the ESPN 2013 Fight of the Year vs. Ruslan Provodnikov, then outboxing Marquez. He has improved since his 2012 clash with Pacquiao, and believes his opponent has lost his killer instinct.
"He's a nice dude, man," Bradley said. "Pacquiao is very humble, very spiritual. But I don't think he has that killer instinct. I don't think he has that fire in him. I really don't."
Pacquiao has said he's taking those barbs to heart, and has run his toughest training camp yet to prepare for this fight. He will need it-Bradley may not have much power in his fists, but he's got a reputation as one of the most physically fit competitors in the sport with top-notch stamina. He also possesses high-end defensive and counterpunching skills that may prove problematic for the offensive Pacman.
Manny has already said he plans to be on the attack. "I do not think Bradley will fight toe-to-toe with me either, so I will have to hunt him down," Pacquiao said. "I am prepared for that. I am not going for a knockout, but if the opportunity presents itself I am going for it this time."
This fight will signal one of two things--the return of Pacquiao as a bona fide superstar or the arrival of Bradley as the next standard bearer in the welterweight division not named Floyd.
We at Sports World News believe that Pacquiao will put forth a very aggressive effort. He will be tagged by counterpunches from the tenacious Bradley, and be unable to knock him out. Still, his offense and activity will be rewarded with a victory. Since boxing can be...interesting...the official SWN pick is Pacquiao by majority decision.
Rest of the card:
Khabib Allakhverdiev (19-0, 9 KO) vs. Jessie Vargas (23-0, 9 KO)
Arash Usmanee (20-1-1, 10 KO) vs. Raymundo Beltran (28-6-1, 17 KO)
Bryan Vasquez (32-1, 17 KO) vs. Jose Felix, Jr. (26-0-1, 21 KO)
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