On April 12th live at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Manny Pacquiao gets a shot at redemption when he takes on the current WBO Welterweight champion Timothy Bradley. Almost two years have passed since Pacquiao lost the title in a controversial decision to Bradley. Many believed that Pacquiao dominated the fight from start to finish but to the dismay of fans, the judges award the split decision victory to Bradley. Most fighters would be furious about losing what was perceived as a one sided victory but Pacquiao is keeping a calm head and feels that decisions like this are part of the sport.
“I’m not angry after the decision. The officials did their best and no one is perfect in this world and sometimes they make mistakes. It’s part of boxing. I wasn’t really bothered about it after the fight. When I went home, most of the people were not negative – they were positive about the fight – most of them thought I won the fight,” stated Pacquiao.
After 36 minutes of action and the decision not going the way Pacquiao and his supporters wanted the announcement to go, you would expect that the taste of defeat may never dissipate. Since getting knocked out by Marquez and putting up a lackluster performance against Rios when compared to his past fights, many feel the spark and fire has left Pacquiao. With the past decision and criticism weighing heavy on his mind, Manny has retooled and is ready to come out fast with his guns blazing, he stated, “We are focusing on being more aggressive and throwing a lot of punches – and if the knockout comes, it comes. I just want to prove that I can have the hunger that it takes to get the job done.”
Normally Bradley has a jovial attitude but with his recent string of wins and finally getting the acknowledgment for his efforts he has slowly become very candid with his comments. He feels that Pacquiao doesn’t have his hunger like he has in the past. Manny feels that Bradley comments are just fueling his fire to train harder. “The more he says it the more it inspires me to show the hunger and the killer instinct he is talking about. It’s good for me, but not for them. I am not angry or disappointed about what he says to me but I’m happy that he has told me that because it inspires me to train hard and to focus in the gym on my game plan and focus on the fight. It is a benefit for me.”
