MANILA, Philippines – Huwag nang magtaka kung piliin ni Manny Pacquiao si world welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley Jr. kesa kay world light welterweight king Terence Crawford.
Ito, ayon kay Jeff Mayweather, ang uncle/trainer ni Floyd Mayweather Jr. ay dahil takot si Pacquiao na labanan si Crawford na hindi pa natatalo sa 27 niyang laban tampok ang 19 knockouts.
Kaya naman malaki ang tsansang piliin ng 37-anyos na si Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) ang 33-anyos na si Bradley (33-1-1, 13 Kos) para mabuo ang kanillang ‘trilogy’.
“I just think Crawford is an up and coming fighter that can actually fight and takes a good shot, has good hand speed, and can fight both ways: He can switch it both ways, he’s a force to be reckoned with,” sabi ni Jeff Mayweather sa panayam ng On The Ropes Boxing Radio.
Bukod dito ay mas mababa rin ang halaga ni Crawford, ang kasalukuyang World Boxing Organization light welterweight champion, pagdating sa pay-per-view kumpara kina Bradley at Amir Khan.
“Don’t get me wrong, even though Crawford is an up and coming fighter, he has no value,” wika ni Jeff Mayweather. “At the end of the day, Manny is not gonna fight his last fight by fighting a young hungry lion like that.”
Hanggang kahapon ay wala pang opisyal na pahayag ang Filipino world eight-division champion kung sino ang gusto niyang labanan sa Abril 9, 2016.
Kamakalawa ay sinabi ni Bob Arum ng Top Rank Promotions na itatakda niya ang boxing card sa nasabing petsa kahit hindi kasama ang Filipino boxing superstar.
Tinalo ni Bradley si Pacquiao sa pamamagitan ng kontrobersyal na split decision win noong 2012 at niresbakan ni ‘Pacman’ via unanimous decision sa kanilang rematch noong 2014.
Kung maitatakda naman ang laban nina Pacquiao at Crawford ay tataya si Jeff Mayweather sa American fighter.
“I would think it’s by points. Don’t get me wrong, the one thing about boxing is that boxing is the theater of death and one punch can change anything,” ani pa ni Jeff Mayweather.