Good chance at a comeback

BRANDON Rios was the first to talk about retirement. Not Manny Pacquiao, his opponent on Nov. 24 in Macau.

Rios had proudly declared about three weeks ago that he would retire Pacquiao, the former 8-division world champion who is out to redeem himself  after  a humiliating knockout dealt him  by “El Dinamita” Juan Manuel Marquez in the sixth round of their fight in Las Vegas last year.

Now it’s Timothy Bradley who’s making the same pronouncement on  Marquez, whom he faces on Oct. 12 for the WBO welterweight title.

Obviously counting on his youth, Bradley told Yahoo Sports he would retire the 39-year-old Mexican legend  when they clash next month. Bradley also toppled Pacquiao last year, winning by a controversial decision.

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“Marquez is a late bloomer who got better and better. He is a legend, the greatest Mexican fighter of his era. He has a great trainer in Nacho Beristain,” said Bradley who could be lined up against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the future.

“But they will never stop my will to win. I will win because I have to win. It is in my DNA. And I will be a bigger name because of my will to win. I have one goal: Go into the ring, win and retire the great Juan Manuel Marquez!”

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While he agrees with most boxing experts that it’s hard for a fighter to make a comeback after a devastating knockout, especially at 34, Kirk Jackson of  BoxingInsider.com said Pacquiao gets a good chance at a comeback because his first opponent will be Brandon Rios (31-1-23 KOs).

“Rios is a tough fighter and he will try his best to play the role of spoiler, but he is tailor-made for Pacquiao.”

Jackson explains that Rios is coming off a defeat (from American Mike Alvarado) where he took a lot of punches.

He added that other factors going against Rios in his upcoming encounter with the Pacman are: “one, he is moving up in weight for the fight; two, he is a flat-footed and crowd-pleasing action-pack styled fighter; three, he does not have the elusive foot movement and counter-punching prowess that give Pacquiao problems.”

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Jackson is the same guy who wonders out loud why Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been continuously avoiding a bout with Pacquiao when he could easily earn a cool $75 million from it.

While Mayweather mocks Pacquiao by saying he’s an inferior opponent,  Jackson thinks there’s another reason why the current pound-for-pound king may never fight the Filipino icon even if he lost twice last year.

“The fact that Pacquiao was knocked out by Marquez in their fourth encounter does not erase Manny Pacquiao’s entire career. He’s still a great fighter, strong and quick enough, so he’s not always predictable.”

“We know he’d be troublesome for Floyd because Team Mayweather doesn’t want him. And Team Mayweather is the most knowledgeable  team in the  sport,” Jackson said.