Roach nixes Pacquiao-Bradley III
Manny Pacquiao is shown training with coach Freddie Roach Wednesday April 2, 2014 at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Los Angeles. Pacquiao is scheduled to fight Timothy Bradley April 12 in a WBO Welterweight title bout. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
HOLLYWOOD—If Manny Pacquiao beats Timothy Bradley in their rematch for the World Boxing Organization welterweight crown on April 12, Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach will reject a third fight between the protagonists.
“Because it will be 2-0 by then,” said Roach, stressing that judges wrongly awarded a split decision win to Bradley in their first fight for the 147-pound title two years ago.
With Pacquiao’s ferocity and intensity in training, Roach said Bradley’s chances of repeating are about slim or none.
And the same goes for Bradley’s threat to knock out Pacquiao in the 12-round pay-per-view bout set at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Roach said he’s convinced Pacquiao will overwhelm Bradley with power punches and force the unbeaten American to retaliate and leave himself open for a knockout.
After teaching Brandon Rios a boxing lesson on Dec. 8, 2012, Pacquiao seemed eager to return to the top of the boxing world once again.
As to Bradley’s claim that he beat Pacquiao fighting on injured feet, Roach said the boast came from a concussed mind.
According to medical reports, Bradley suffered a contusion when he got knocked down in the 12th round by Ruslan Provodnikov, the WBO light welterweight titlist and former Pacquiao sparring partner who lost by a close decision to the American in their fight last year.
If Pacquiao can break Bradley’s ankles while holding back in their first fight, Roach said he can’t imagine what the Fighter of the Year will do if he pours everything he’s got in this bout.
