Very few people envision Timothy Bradley being able to pull off an upset win versus Manny Pacquiao this June.
The Las Vegas odds makers have already come out heavily in favor of the Filipino champion. Various people associated with Pacquiao have made it no secret that they are looking ahead to what will happen after he wins this fight. And while Bradley is shockingly confident, common wisdom says that he doesn’t have the power to put Pacquiao down quickly – the one thing that would have given him a legitimate shot in this one.
All of that being said, though, in recent days Pacquiao has taken to admitting that he’s nervous about his upcoming bout.
While speaking with the good people at Manila Bulletin, the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world said that he’s currently not at the weight he feels he should be at. Per the report:
Manny Pacquiao has told the Bulletin that he is a bit bothered about his weight not because he has gained excess baggage the last few months but for the reason that he is actually underweight.
Less than three months before he meets Tim Bradley on June 9 in Las Vegas, Pacquiao said that even if he is on vacation and eating what he likes without hesitation, he doesn’t add up extra weight like many active fighters do when they’re not in training.
A few days earlier, Bradley expressed remarkable levels of self-belief in his prospects during an interview with Kevin Davis of Boxing Socialist.
“I'm going to expose some things, other fighters haven't done yet against Pacquiao. You know every fight I say 'I'm a win, I'm a win' even though everybody say I'm a win, difference is I have a plan,” Bradley said.
“With me and my team man, we roll together man Pacquiao will be dethroned that night and I do have a great plan man."
So between Pacquiao’s hesitance and Bradley’s apparent poise, do we have a potential upset on our hands?
Probably not.
The weight/size thing is something various members of Pacquiao’s camp throw out before just about every fight, and yet the weight/size never actually proves to be a problem while he pounds opponents into the canvas. Along the same lines, everyone starting with Oscar De La Hoya and ending with Juan Manuel Marquez (each time, but specifically before the third match) is confident coming in. You don’t win boxing matches via confidence, however.
Bradley will give the Filipino champion a run, no doubt about it. But the fact that he isn’t at all a knockout threat means that a.) Bradley won’t win this match and b.) despite the fact that he’s far more athletic than the technically sound Marquez was, he’ll probably challenge the champ less successfully when it’s all said and done.
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