The fight between Manny Pacquaio and Timothy Bradley is going to be a well-watched event. The two first met in 2012 as Bradley took home a very disputed decision win. Two years later, in 2014, Pacquaio took home the victory competitively but not clearly. Now, two years have passed, and 2016 will mark the best 2 out of 3 for these competitors, and this is what is known about the Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley Fight Update, Press Conference, Stats and Winner Prediction.
Manny Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) will face off against Timothy Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs) this Saturday at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on HBO PPV. A report from The Mirror says that the Filipino will take on Bradley and then retire, and said at the press conference on Wednesday that "it is very important to get the win for my country and the people in the Philippines" as well as "this is my last fight." Win or lose, it sounds like Pacquaio is set to run for the senate in his homeland.
The final press conference at the MGM Grand last Wednesday was kind of a surprise as it seemed absent of the trash talk. Boxing Junkie described it as a "lovefest of praise, compliments, reflection and even some unlikely political stumping". However, one of the things behind this fight is the rivalry between Pacquaio coach Freddie Roach and Bradley coach Teddy Atlas, and having their fighters face off is even more dramatic than it already is with Pacquaio (aka "Pac Man") and Bradley (aka "Desert Storm") alone.
As far as the stats and winner prediction is concerned, Bleacher Report states that Pacquiao is a 4-9 favorite from Odds Shark, with Bradley's backers getting 7-4 odds. Pacquaio has lost three of his last six fights, including the last one against Floyd Mayweather last year, and world-class welterweight Jessie Vargas, who has lost in a fight with Bradley before, says that "it's a true 50/50 fight" between the two boxers.
The PPV broadcast will not only have the Pacquiao vs. Bradley fight (Welterweight, 147 labs) but will feature three others. These include: Super Middleweight (168lbs) Arthur Abraham (44-4, 29 KO) vs. Gilberto Ramirez (33-0; 24 KO), Featherweight (126 lbs) Oscar Valdez (19-0, 16 KO) vs. Evgeny Gradovich (21-1-1, 9 KO), and Super Lightweight (140 lbs) Jose Ramirez (16-0, 12 KO) vs. Manny Perez (25-11-1, 6 KO).
If you are interested in watching the fight online via live stream, there are options for that such as TopRank TV. Bloody Elbow will also have live fight coverage including the results and discussion.
