The Old Ways, And The New: Manny Pacquiao Vs. Timothy Bradley Preview And Prediction

So continues our marathon coverage of one of the biggest fights of 2012, Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley on June 9 on HBO pay-per-view. Previously: the stakes of Pacquiao-Bradley; getting to know Bradley; the undercard, previewed; keys to the fight, part I and II; the Rabbit Punch column takes on Pacquiao-Bradley. Next: a staff roundtable.

From early 2009 until late 2011, the safest prediction for any Manny Pacquiao fight was, "Pacquiao, by overwhelming speed and power." There were always reasons to suspect it might not go that way -- maybe it was Miguel Cotto's size advantage, or Antonio Margarito's, or Joshua Clottey's defense and jab, or people thinking a faded Shane Mosley had more left in the tank than Pacquiao could handle. But that's the way every one of those fights has gone, in the end: Pacquiao, by overwhelming speed and power.

Last winter, Juan Manuel Marquez helped show us, in a stark way, that Pacquiao was no longer invincible. Marquez, even older and not at his ideal weight, flummoxed Pacquiao like he did back in two previous meetings before Pacquiao ascended to boxing's pound-for-pound throne, bringing to the fore rumblings that Pacquiao might finally be slowing down in his early 30s.

That reminder of Pacquiao's mortality still fresh in our minds, it becomes easier to accept the possibility of Timothy Bradley beating Pacquiao Saturday. It's all the easier because of the specific things Bradley has shown himself capable of, and how those things play into Pacquiao's longstanding weaknesses. Maybe Pacquiao still wins in his usual fashion. But the pathway to a Bradley victory doesn't require unsubstantiated suspicion. The mind can grasp it, almost like it's a tangible thing.

Source: http://queensberry-rules.com/2012-articles/june/the-old-ways-and-the-new-manny-pacquiao-vs-timothy-bradley-preview-and-prediction.html

Chuck Liddell Roy Jones Jr Junior Jones Gerrie Coetzee