12 Rounds of Thoughts - Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley

Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KO's) receives vindication with his unanimous decision victory over Timothy Bradley (31-1, 12 KO's). 

Round 1: Bob Arum… you are stubborn.  Undercard fights do matter… and tonight’s card was definitive proof. 

Round 2: Ray Beltran is intriguing but seemed to get outworked in the last quarter of the fight. 

Round 3: The atmosphere for Pac-Bradley was amazing on screen… can only imagine what it was like in person. 

Round 4: I almost thought about changing my pre-fight prediction based on Manny’s entrance music… Katy Perry? Really?! There’s another “Eye of the Tiger” song that woulda been a little more, you know.. tough.

Round 5: A lot of questions were answered tonight… and some more were birthed.

Round 6: Manny Pacquiao is not the same fighter… and that is 100% evident… but he’s still better than Timothy Bradley. 

Round 7: The non-stop aggressive Manny Pacquiao is dead.  I’ve never seen Manny so flat-footed in a fight.  One of his greatest attributes is his unbelievable footwork and it was non-existent in the beginning of the fight. 

Round 8: Timothy Bradley got rocked in the second round, only to come back in the second half of the round and stagger Manny in the third…. He clearly won the 4^th and was beating Manny to the punch.  Then in round five it all stopped. 

Round 9: I’m not sure if Bradley got “goo-goo” eyes when he stunned Manny in the 3^rd, but his gameplan changed to try and knock Manny out with one punch.  And when I say one punch, I’m talking haymakers. 

Round 10: A fighter with 12 career KO’s in 31 fights should not have the audacity to ever have a one-punch KO gameplan.  His corner was urging him to box, literally screaming at him… but he wanted to live up to his word and KO the Pacman. 

Round 11:  While Manny wasn’t the non-stop aggressive fighter of the past… his passion cannot be questioned.  He took that big right hand from Bradley and a number of big shots, but went for blood the whole night.  No, he didn’t KO Bradley, but he hurt him a number of times and went for the finish.  Timothy Bradley is just a tough son of a gun. 

Round 12: So what did we learn?  Well… we learned that Manny isn’t the same but he’s still an elite fighter who once again outclassed one of the best fighters in the sport.  A fighter who was undefeated and in their prime.  We also learned that Timothy Bradley is a very good fighter with unquestioned heart and determination… but he’s not elite.  What he does in his next fight will tell you everything you need to know about Timothy Bradley. 

What we don’t know is whether Manny has lost a step… or was fighting flat-footed and loading up to try and knock Bradley out.  We don’t know if “post-Marquez IV” Manny has a fragile chin and what will happen when he gets hit by a bigger puncher.  These questions may be answered in Manny’s next fight which will most likely either be a fifth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez or the hard hitting Mike Alvarado. 

Overall, a really good fight that proved Manny’s still one of the best in the sport and Timothy Bradley is as tough as they come.  I say have ‘em do it again.