MANILA, Philippines – He might’ve gotten robbed of a decision the first time around – as most boxing observers would agree – but Manny Pacquiao says judging would be the least of his concerns when he takes on Timothy Bradley again on April 12.
Pacquiao appeared to dominate Bradley during that fateful night two years ago, but in the eyes of two judges, it was Bradley who got the better of the Filipino. Judges Duane Ford and C.J. Ross each scored the bout 115-113 for Bradley, while the third judge, Jerry Roth, had Pacquiao winning 115-113.
Bradley thus escaped with the WBO welterweight title via a majority decision win, a result that was slammed by many ringside observers. The WBO would later conduct a review of the fight, and its five-man international panel would then conclude that Pacquiao should’ve gotten the decision.
In a conference call with media members late Tuesday, Pacquiao just brushed off the controversial verdict, believing he had clearly won the fight in the eyes of the public.
"I'm not angry after the decision. I understand that with the officials, nobody's perfect in this world. I have to understand that it's part of boxing. I wasn't bothered after that fight," Pacquiao said.
"I went home and the reaction of the people was not negative, it was positive, so, they understood that I won the fight,†he added.
Although Pacquiao and Freddie Roach would prefer a knockout win this time to avoid a similar controversial ending, the fighting congressman won’t let the pursuit of a stoppage win get in the way of his game plan
“We're not focusing on a knockout. Our focus is to put more discipline into it and to throw a lot of punches. If the knockout comes, then it comes. I just want to prove that I still have the hunger and the killer instinct," he explained.
Roach, for his part, could hardly wait for his ward to exact revenge on Bradley two weeks from now at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
"There's nothing to get mad over. It's part of life, winning and losing, and revenge is great, and that's what we have a chance to do here. We have a shot at reversing that bad decision and to get the win this time, and hopefully, if everything goes well and we fight the right fight, then we'll knock this guy out," said Roach.
The multi-awarded trainer added that aggressiveness is the key for Pacquiao, and he expects the Filipino icon to throw more punches than he did in his first meeting with Bradley.
“We need to fight three minutes of every round. I think that if we're able to fight at a fast pace like that, then we'll be able to shock Bradley along the way," Roach continued.