FIGHT REVIEW ----------------- Pacquiao v Bradley II

Manny still loves to fight.

Manny Pacquiao is a lot more than just a boxer. He is an eccentric entertainer with a tremendously charismatic personality. Nothing seems to phase him, and so we saw Manny enter the ring to fight one of the best boxers in the world bouncing along with his usual infectious smile. This enthusiasm along with his explosive style of boxing is why he is such a loved figure the world over. Manny made upwards of $20 million this fight and as far as anyone deserves that sum for a boxing match Manny does.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
Manny entered the ring to fight one of the best boxers in the world bouncing along with his usual infectious smile. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Manny's mother applied voodoo
to Bradley.

Tim Bradley entered the ring to a by now familiar chorus of boos. As undeserved as this treatment is for him given his performances in the ring he  now takes it in stride. He has become used to the big stage and it showed in his demeanour. With his infamous controversial decision win in their first fight he was out to prove a point.

Bradley did a good job in the early rounds by boxing smart as he had when he beat Marquez. He was patient and constantly circled left away from Manny's left hand looking to counter this shot as described in the preview to this fight. But as Freddie Roach predicted, when Manny applied a bit of pressure Bradley's strategy went out the window and he obliged Manny by engaging in exchanges. This was a bad move and very bizarre given his history. He hadn't learnt his lesson against Ruslan Provodnikov. Surprisingly he was standing by his words prefight and going for the knockout. Against Pacquiao this meant loading up on every shot and throwing bombs. Inevitably Manny absorbed the blows and fired back. Bradley

Bradley said bring it on.

tired from this effort and tried to mask his exhaustion by goading and taunting Manny to attack him on the ropes. Manny then took control of the fight. It would not have been wrong to have Bradley winning after 5 rounds. However, from then on Manny turned the tide and dominated the rest of the fight.
                                                                                                                                                                                    
Manny showed a level of patience this fight which we have not seen before. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
Manny showed a level of patience this fight which we have not seen before. In recent years he was over aggressive against the elusive Bradley and then with devastating consequences  against the counter punching Marquez when he later admitted he learnt his lesson in patience after being knocked out cold. In this rematch with Bradley he was very controlled and picked his shots landing fewer but higher quality punches than in the previous fight vs Bradley. When Bradley later went back to moving and boxing Manny patiently cut off the ring. He has clearly not slowed down and this strategy of patience was very deliberate which should bode well for likely future fights.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
The challenges posed by Marquez and then Bradley has possibly served to better prepare Manny for what would be the biggest fight in boxing history........a date with Floyd Mayweather jr. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Manny celebrates win with a
Filipino jig.

Fate has a strange way of being kind to Manny Pacquiao. In losing controversially to Bradley in 2012 and then getting knocked out by Marquez, maybe he has been convinced of the need to adapt to his opponent. He definitely showed this fight that he now has the maturity to do that. The most elusive and best counter puncher in the business today just happens to be his biggest nemesis and the challenges posed by Marquez and then Bradley has possibly served to better prepare Manny for what would be the biggest fight in boxing history........a date with Floyd Mayweather jr.