Boxing world reacts to Pacquiao-Bradley III on Twitter

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Bob Arum and Manny PacquiaoOn Wednesday, Top Rank’s Bob Arum confirmed to various media outlets that a third fight between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley has been finalized for April 9, 2016 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in what could be the final bout of Pacquiao’s storied career.

As with any major fight announcement, fans’ reactions on social media were swift and emotionally charged, with opinions ranging from mild disappointment to downright anger and disgust. Here are some of the best raw streams of consciousness from both fans and boxing insiders brought on by the fight’s announcement, courtesy of Twitter:

Not all of the reactions were negative, though. Some of the more easily pleased human beings on Twitter were at least able to express level-headed, mild contentment at the announcement of a Pacquiao-Bradley trilogy:

With Pacquiao-Bradley III set in stone for this spring, some fans are left pining for “what could’ve been.” Many clamored for Pacquiao to try to lure Floyd Mayweather Jr. out of retirement for a lucrative rematch, or wanted Pacquiao to select an elite opponent that he’s never faced before like Terence Crawford, Amir Khan or Adrien Broner.

The first two fights between Pacquiao and Bradley – despite the outrageous scoring in the first fight in which Bradley was gifted a ridiculous decision – were not incredibly competitive, with Pacquiao clearly out-boxing Bradley in both instances. No one, including Bob Arum himself, should be surprised by the extremely negative reaction thus far to the announcement of the third fight.