SPORTS SHORTS 150: TIMOTHY BRADLEY FAVORS ERROL SPENCE SLIGHTLY, ANTONIO MARGARITO CHOOSES MANNY PACQUIAO
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 17 Jun 2021
Timothy Bradley has fought Manny Pacquiao in a trilogy and is very familiar with the eight-division world champion. He told SnowQueenLA, “I’m going to favor Spence slightly, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Pacquiao could pull it off.”
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Bradley thinks Pacquiao has a chance of winning an upset against Errol Spence. "I think it’s a great fight for Pacquiao." Bradley believes that Pacquiao sensed an edge in choosing the undefeated. “He’ll pick and choose which guy he wants to face where he sees a little bit of advantage.”
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Bradley surmises that Spence is now slower compared to how he fights before his car crash on October 10, 2019, when he wrecked his Ferrari in Dallas that had himself hospitalized in critical condition. “I think that he sees Spence is a little bit slower than what he’s used to fighting.”
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Bradley seems to know what Pacquiao have seen on his prospective foe. "Spence does something that Pacquiao likes, he’ll work and bring his head back to the middle,” Bradley revealed.
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“Pacquiao’s going to wait on his opportunities and he (Spence) needs to understand that Pacquiao is not only going to counter him with one shot, he’s going to counter him with combinations…you’re not going to block Manny Pacquiao, all those punches he’s throwing at you.”
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He also saw in Pacquiao the advantages in footwork and speed. “The speed,” Bradley said. “The speed, the footwork, the in and out movement, that’s going to be frustrating for Spence.”
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“This guy is a phenom,” Bradley described Pacquiao, sending some sort of a warning on Spence that at an advanced age, the Filipino icon still has a lot of gas left in his tank.
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However, Bradley believes Spence has the upper hand going into the match. “He’s a younger guy. He’s a fresher guy. He puts a massive amount of pressure on guys all the way to the end of the fight. He throws a lot of punches, something that Pacqiuao hasn’t seen before in some time.”
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Bradley emphasizes that Spence will have the energy to sustain as the fight lasts. “I think he should be able to outlast Pacquiao."
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Pacquiao intimated that his fight with Spence could be his last bout. When asked whether the unification match with the American WBC and IBF welterweight champion would be his last, he answered, “It could be."
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“It’s a legacy fight,” Pacquiao said regarding his Las Vegas battle. “It’s going to be a good fight. I think it will close all the debates on who’s the GOAT [Greatest of All Time]."
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Pacquiao added that he will not engage in an exhibition fight or even face a YouTuber after retirement like Floyd Mayweather. "That’s what he wanted to fight, not a boxer,” Pacquiao added. “I’d just like to fight only the best.”
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Spence stated that Pacquiao is really in "deep trouble facing a stronger and better version of him in August.” Pacquiao answered that Spence "must train very hard by now.”
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Antonio Margarito predicted that Pacquiao will defeat Spence. The Mexican former world welterweight and light middleweight champion stated that Pacquiao has too much speed and experience for Spence to overcome. (Pacquiao) just moves way too much and the truth is he's just too fast," Margarito told Fight Hype.
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"Manny Pacquiao really is a great fighter, that's just the truth and you mentioned he really does throw away too many punches," he said.
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"The truth is I was gonna fight him I always mention that like, 'You know what, he can throw six punches to my one punch.'.. But when I catch him and to catch him turned out to not be so easy so the truth is it really ended up being seven to eight punches to my one punch. So really he was just way too fast."
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"He's still really ready for this," said Margarito. "I say it after retiring from boxing many years, yes the years do add up but experience really counts a lot." He chose the Filipino to come out the winner. "Manny Pacquiao still is an excellent fighter, I'm going with Pacquiao."
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Margarito, who was considered as a heavy hitter in his prime, wants to face Oscar De La Hoya in an exhibition. "Come on,” said former welterweight champion Margarito. “I’m right here. We’ve already told him we’re right here to fight of course.”
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Brooklyn Nets won 114-108 in Game 5 of their series against the Milwaukee Bucks. Durant scored a triple-double including 49 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists, the first time any player had recorded at least 45 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists in a playoff game.
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Durant shot 16-for-23 overall and 4-of-9 from 3-point territory and made 13-of-16 from free throws. He scored 31 points in the second half and 20 in the fourth quarter alone. Amazingly, he played the entire 48 minutes of the game.
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The Serbian national team is possibly playing without several key players for the Olympic qualifiers, according to MozzartSport. Hawks star Bogdan Bogdanovic and reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets are some of the players considered to be likely unvailable for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade.
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According to Marc Stein of The New York Times, USA Basketball is trying to get Bradley Beal of Washington Wizards to play for the team. Those who committed so far are Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum.
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Gilas Pilipinas broke the Korean curse as they surged in the second half to beat archrival South Korea, 81-78, in the final window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers at the Angeles University Foundation (AUF) Gym in Clark.
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SJ Belangel sank a very difficult triple from the right wing, beating the buzzer to lift the Filipinos to their first win over the South Koreans since 2013. The historic victory qualified the Philippines for the prestigious FIBA Asia Cup scheduled in Indonesia this coming August.
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Dwight Ramos led Gilas with 16 points and five rebounds while Belangel added 14 points and five rebounds. Kai Sotto also finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in his national seniors team debut. Naturalized Filipino-Ivorian center Angelo Koaume added 11 points and six rebounds.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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