PACQUIAO PREFERS BRADLEY FOR HIS NEXT FIGHT
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 10 Jan 2014
Between undefeated World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Timothy Bradley and WBO junior-welterweight belt-owner Ruslan Provodnikov, Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao prefers the former to be his opponent when he fights next on April or May this year.
The only man on earth to win four-division lineal titles and eightcrowns in as many weight classes announced this yesterday during the SCOOP Sa Kamayan On Air radio program aired over DZAR where he declared his promoter has yet to decide on the official assignment on his next fight.
?Yes, I want to fight Bradley, simply because I want to win back the title he took from me by a questionable decision,? the 35-year-old Sarangani Congressman told his hosts during the airing which was also viewed via live streaming at www.sonshinetvradyo.com.
Pacquiao was referring to the controversial split decision the unbeaten American dealt him two years ago in a fight almost the entire boxing world thought he won and many considered as one of the biggest ring robberies in the sport of sweet science.
?Halos lahat ng tao sa mundo ay naniniwala na tayo ang nanalo doon sa laban, kaya dapat lamang naman na bawiin natin yun alang-alang sa mga taong gaya natin ay ninakawan ng panalo ng isang huwes,? Pacquiao reasoned out. (Almost everyone in the world thought I won the fight, so it?s fitting to get back the title for people like me who got robbed of a victory.)
The ?2013 Comeback Fighter of the Year? more than made up for that twin losses, which he admitted the bleakest moment in his 19-year ring career, with a lopsided near shutout unanimous decision victory over another American welterweight Brandon Rios last November 24 in Macau.
?There?s no final decision yet though. We will still be meeting, my promoter Bob Arum and myself to finally decide on who I will fight,? he said. ?Definitely though, I would insist that Bradley be it. Siguro before the month ends, malalaman na.?
Even the date of the encounter, whether April or May, is yet to be decided, he said. Arum has actually reserved the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for an April 12 date, but Pacquiao wants to move this to May because he and his Sarangani Vice Gov. wife Jinkee is expecting their fifth child in April.
?Not that I?m afraid to face Ruslan (Provodnikov),? Pacquiao clarified. ?He?s a very promising talented fighter who has a very bright future in his chosen career that suffering a loss this early in his career might be detrimental to his aspiration of becoming a great fighter.?
?Naipangako ko na kasi na hind na ako magpapatalo sa mga nalalabi ko pang laban bago ako mag-retiro and I am definitely be fulfilling that promise whether it be against Bradley or Provodnikov o kung sino man ang iharap sa akin. Kahit si (Floyd) Mayweather Jr. ? (I promise not to lose in my remaining fights before I retire, and I am definitely fulfilling that promise whether it be against Bradley or Provodnikov or even Mayweather.)
Asked about his game plan should the Pacquiao-Bradley II be realized, the three-time ?Fighter of the Year? honoree of the Boxing Writers Association of America retorted:
?Kilala na naman ako ng lahat na hindi nagpe-predict sa mga laban ko, but definitely, I will be training long and hard for that fight like the preparation I forced myself in the Rios fight. As I said, I will be fighting not to lose but to win.?
?Bradley is a good fighter. He won?t be in his present status if he isn?t. Hindi tayo mayabang. Kahit kelan hindi tayo nagyabang,? he said. ?What I have always been saying is boxing fans all over the world will certainly enjoy the fight. Yun naman ang naging signature ko sa lahat ng laban ko, pasayahin ang fans.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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