Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley Jr. are all set for the third meeting, a match that doesn't seem like the one that the boxing world is too eager to see.
The only selling point for this one is, of course, Teddy Atlas, the new man behind Bradley who made waves when he won via total knockout (TKO) in the ninth round over Brandon Rios. With that said, expect the trash talk to escalate.
But as far as the fight proper is concerned, even Bob Arum admits that this fight is not expected to go past its previous numbers. In the 2012 fight in which Bradley won, the fight generated 890,000 pay-per-view (PPV) buys. When the two had that rematch in 2014 in which Pacquiao won, the numbers dwindled to 800,000.
If the trend is to be followed, the numbers are likely to go lower.
Arum is aware of it, but blames the disappointing bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Pacquiao last May 2 as a probable reason, according to Yahoo Sports. In short, the Top Rank promoter still hasn't realized that the fans wanted someone new in the mix and not a third fight, especially given that most believed Pacquiao dominated both previous meetings.
Shunned were Amir Khan and Terence Crawford, two fighters on the rise. Of the two, many felt that Crawford would have been a wiser choice, considering he was a new face and someone who has been carving out a name for himself.
With all due respect to Bradley, he may have been better off pursuing Miguel Cotto rather than settling for a third fight with the politics-bound Filipino boxer. But then again, such is not his call but more of Arum's.
Bradley could still come out with a good performance and shut down detractors. But it is obvious that not too many approve of the April 9 fight, which incidentally is not being marketed as Pacquiao's last fight.
Despite his impending senatorial seat, Pacquiao is still hoping to get a rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the future.
