Fireworks in April: Pacman-Bradley 3

MANILA, Philippines - Boxing icon Manny Pacquiao has chosen American Timothy Bradley as his opponent on April 9 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, marking the third time since 2012 that the two will square off inside the ring.

According to Bob Arum, who handles both fighters, Pacquiao chose Bradley because the pay-per-view people in the United States felt it was the best fight to sell.

Others feel it’s the easiest fight out there for Pacquiao.

“The pay-per-view people thought that fighting Bradley was for the best interest,” Arum told The STAR yesterday just hours after the fight was announced.

Arum had burned the lines with the cable and pay-per-view providers in the US as well as people at MGM, and they were all on the same page.

Bradley, to them, had more to offer than Terence Crawford or Amir Khan or Adrien Broner. It was not difficult for Arum to convince the 37-year-old Pacquiao.

“And it’s a great story. People will say ‘Well, people have seen Pacquiao and Bradley twice,’ but it’s a different Bradley this time,” said Arum.

“Bradley, as you can see from the (Brandon) Rios fight, was a different fighter under (trainer) Teddy Atlas. It’s an interesting fight with what Atlas has taught him,” Arum added.

Pacquiao and Bradley first met in 2012 and the then undefeated American pulled off one of the greatest heists in boxing history.

Two of the three judges gave the fight to Bradley while the other judge and the rest of the world had Pacquiao winning the 12-round contest.

In 2014, on the night of April 12, Pacquiao avenged the bitter loss, scoring a lopsided victory that only cemented the belief that he won the first fight.

To most boxing fans, Pacquiao is 2-0 over Bradley. But that’s not what the record books say.

Fans had wanted Pacquiao, who may or may not retire after this fight, to take on someone else, some fresh challenge from younger, hungrier guys like Crawford, Khan or Broner.

But boxing is business, and Arum has assured fans they’re going to like what they’re going to see.

The first Pacquiao-Bradley fight sold around 700,000 pay-per-view hits, and the rematch did around 800,000. Getting close to those numbers should make everybody happy.

Pacquiao is coming off a shoulder operation and a loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last May. By the time he faces Bradley anew, he’ll be out of action for 11 months.

Pacquiao-Mayweather had 4.4 million pay-per-view buys and generated close to half a billion dollars in revenue. Only a rematch between the two superstars can come close, match or surpass those numbers.

While Pacquiao has spoken this year of retiring after an April bout to pursue his political career, Arum said he would not market the bout as Pacquiao’s last.

“I’m not certain it is his last fight,” Arum said. “It may well be his last fight, it may not be his last fight. You cannot in good conscience sell it that way.”

A congressman since 2010, Pacquiao is seeking a seat in the Senate in the 2016 elections.

Arum also said the shoulder “seems to be 100 percent.”

“He’s playing basketball with it, scuba diving with it,” Arum said.

Although not all the paperwork has been finalized, Arum said there were no obstacles to the fight taking place, with major terms such as guaranteed money and the purse split decided.

“These fighters have fought for me for many years,” he said, adding that the fight would be formally announced with stateside press conferences in January.

Arum said Pacquiao would conduct the first part of training in the Philippines.

He thinks Bradley, after 24 rounds with Pacquiao inside the ring, stands a better chance this time against boxing’s lone eight-division world champion.   

“No question. No question. He’s fighting more intelligently now. He’s a different fighter,” said Arum over the phone yesterday morning.

For his fight against Rios last November, Bradley, now 32 years old and 33-1-1 with 13 knockouts in the ring, hired Teddy Atlas as his new trainer, replacing Joel Diaz.

Pacquiao turned 37 last Dec. 17. He’s 57-6-2 with 38 knockouts. He’s 3-3 in his last six fights.

Experts felt that Bradley, in a short time with Atlas, has become a better fighter.

“Just watch him against Rios. He’s a different fighter than he’s ever been. So this is a very interesting fight. It will be a different Bradley that you will see,” said Arum.

Pacquiao is guaranteed $20 million for his April fight, and according to ESPN, Arum had wired the Filipino boxer $2 million in advance.

Arum did not say how much Bradley is getting for this fight but for the rematch in 2014 the hardworking fighter from Palm Springs in California made $6 million.

The rivalry between the two trainers, Freddie Roach for Pacquiao and Atlas on the other side, will also help sell the fight.

“Yes, absolutely,” Arum said.

But that’s a different story.