Manny Pacquiao’s final opponent was formally announced and it was hardly a surprise to anyone.

Timothy Bradley Jr., the official lone candidate on the list that had nothing tied up to himself was announced as the Filipino boxer’s final opponent for April 9, and not too many people are happy about it.

Manny Pacquiao Next Fight: Timothy Bradley Matchup A Mistake

Bradley’s former trainer Joel Diaz believes that Pacquiao chose to play it safe and believes his former boy has his work cut out for him.

"The reason why Pacquiao is choosing him is because (Bradley) can't hurt him," said Diaz to The Desert Sun. "If Pacquiao chooses Bradley, he will knock him out this time. People don't want to see that fight again."

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Lyle Fitzimmons (Bleacher Report) calls it something senseless and finds it no different from the way Floyd Mayweather chose to end his career. In short, he terms it as “Andre Berto 2.0”.

Now there is a footnote that many may want to consider for the said fight. This has something to do with a report via the LA Times that Pacquiao and Arum have agreed not to market this bout as the eight-time division winner's last fight.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Pacquiao is leaving the door open. But that seems to be the case only for one fighter – Floyd Mayweather Jr. Right now, it doesn’t seem likely to happen though no one can say what happens as we move forward.

For Bob Arum, it is a win-win situation. If Pacquiao wins, the door is open for a rematch despite the Filipino fighter’s stance that it will be his last hurrah.

A Timothy Bradley Jr. win will benefit him as well since “Desert Storm” is under Top Rank.

But isn’t Terence Crawford also under Arum’s wing? He is actually but Arum claims that Bradley is someone who can drive in more revenue.

Sadly that is the way boxing matches are made these days – all about pay-per-view buys.

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