Pacquiao vows to regain old belt from Bradley

MANILA, Philippines – With his rematch with Timothy Bradley set for April 12, Manny Pacquiao is elated for the chance to avenge his controversial loss to the American in 2012.

In a statement published in ringtv.com, Pacquiao vowed to erase the stigma of that loss, which many thought should’ve been a victory for the fighting congressman as he appeared to have dominated Bradley through most of the bout.

"I'm happy that Bradley agreed to fight me a second time," said Pacquiao, who’s planning to deal Bradley his first loss in 31 fights.

Bradley will be defending the WBO welterweight title, which he took from Pacquiao during their initial encounter. He has retained it twice with victories over Ruslan Provodnikov and Juan Manuel Marquez.

Pacquiao wants his old belt back.

"This will be a different fight. I will get back from me what he took from me in this last fight," said the boxing icon, who plans to sustain the momentum of his dominant victory over Brandon Rios in Macau last November.

Pacquiao will reportedly earn $20 million in the rematch while Bradley will take home $6 million, with US pressers scheduled in February to hype the fight.