With all the talk of Manny Pacquiao vs Timothy Bradley for the WBO international welterweight title this weekend, it got me thinking about all the times Manny Pacquiao has been here before, on the big stage, and how much desire does he really have left?
________________________________________________________________________________
After looking at the betting markets this weekend, it would appear that most bookmakers see Pacquiao vs Bradley III as a fairly 50/50 affair, perhaps with an ever so slight edge to Pacquiao with most bookies.
But I’m not sure I’d go along with that myself, I can see where they are coming from in terms of looking at the pair’s previous fights, where Pacquiao was clearly the better fighter in my opinion.
But father time waits for no one in this cruel sport of boxing and Pacquiao now at 37, has been in a lot of wars through the years.
Entertaining ones for the fans mind you. What a career he’s had.
Having amassed an impressive record of 57-6-2 (38KO) over a 21 year professional boxing career that has seen him win world titles in a remarkable eight weight divisions, how much will he really want it on Saturday night?
Bradley on the other hand will be gunning for revenge and with new trainer Teddy Atlas in his corner in recent times, I’d favor Bradley to perhaps win a close decision this weekend.
Manny made a lot of money with Floyd Mayweather last year and with his continued political career in his native Philippines taking up more and more of his time, I’m not sure we’ll ever see that explosive, whirlwind type Manny Pacquiao again – the guy who tore through the likes of Miguel Cotto, Oscar De La Hoya and Rick Hatton.
Having said that, even though that Pacquiao is now gone, he surely still has enough hand and foot speed, plus boxing IQ, to give plenty of top welterweights problems.
But in my opinion, the great Manny Pacquiao’s best days could be coming to an end starting with this weekend’s third fight with Bradley.
I hope he proves me wrong though, and can go out of the sport on top, like he deserves to after such a fine tenure in the sport.
The post How Much Hunger Does Manny Pacquiao Have Left? appeared first on %%Boxing News and Views/%%.
