Photo by Naoki Fukuda

PACQUAIO-BRADLEY III

Hi Dougie!

Were you surprised by how Manny Pacquiao defeated Tim Bradley?

After the fight, Manny said this will be his last fight. Do you believe him? I think he will still fight, especially if he loses in the senatorial elections.

Cheers. – James, Singapore

I think you’re right James. If Pacquiao takes an “L” in his senatorial bid in the Philippines in May, I think we’ll see him in the ring again, perhaps as soon as late 2016, but more realistically sometime next year.

I wish you (and everyone else) were wrong, though. Saturday’s performance against Bradley was as close to a perfect career finale that a pro boxer could ask for.

Even though I tabbed Bradley for the victory, I wasn’t surprised that Pacquiao won, but I was surprised by how well the 37-year-old veteran moved about the ring and how fast and fluid his hands were. Even after 21 years in the pro ranks, a healthy and motivated Pacquiao is a sight to behold. His reflexes and timing were on point, and at the end of the day, he was more willing to let his punches fly than Bradley was.

And that’s saying something because Bradley, a legit top-five welterweight and an experienced former champ still in his prime, was well prepared, immaculately conditioned and game as usual. It wasn’t enough.

ANTHONY JOSHUA

Hi Dougie,

After a busy weekend I’m sure loads of people will want your take in events so I’ll keep this brief.

1. Did the win say more about Anthony Joshua’s potential or Charles Martin’s limitations?
2. What do you make of Eddie Hearn saying that Joshua’s first defence could take place on the night of Fury vs Klitschko?
3. The build-up between AJ and Fury will be huge. Do you think Fury’s shtick will get tiresome or help build the fight?
4. Is Fury already a little rattled by AJ? I think he may be jealous that he’s not getting all of the attention. Could this effect his preparation for Klitschko?
5. Finally, who do you have winning the AJ vs Fury fight?

Thanks for reading mate and have a good week. – Joel, UK

I will, Joel. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Joshua, Hearn and Fury. (And thanks for keeping it concise!) I’ll answer your questions in order:

Did the win say more about Joshua’s potential or Martin’s limitations? It’s hard to say for two reasons: 1. Joshua clipped Martin before the beltholder really got started, and 2. we still don’t know anything about Martin. If the St. Louis native comes back against a decent opponent later this year and looks good, it adds significance to Joshua’s second round KO. If Martin continues to win, Joshua’s first title victory will look better and better in retrospect. If Martin looks poor in his next bout, Joshua’s sharp performance on Saturday will be attributed more to the American’s lack of boxing class.

But I was impressed with Joshua’s form, which was straight out of the textbook of boxing basics. His poise and accuracy was special, too.

What do you make of Eddie Hearn saying that Joshua’s first defence could take place on the night of Fury vs Klitschko? According to Jeff Powell of The Daily Mail, Hearn recently stated that he doesn’t intend to stage Joshua’s first title defense on July 9 at Wembley Stadium, even though he had planned to do so prior to the announcement of Fury-Klitschko II. He knows it would detrimental to the sport and to his own attraction. Boxing’s got enough Cold Wars going on as it is. I like this line from Hearn: “I’ve not been around the game to be as bitter as some.”

The build-up between AJ and Fury will be huge. Do you think Fury’s shtick will get tiresome or help build the fight? There’s no doubt in my mind that Fury’s shtick will build their eventual showdown into a global superfight – provided he beats Klitschko again, which won’t be an easy task.

Is Fury already a little rattled by AJ? I think he may be jealous that he’s not getting all of the attention. Could this effect his preparation for Klitschko? No, I don’t think Fury’s rattled at all, and I don’t think Joshua’s success will pull his focus from Klitschko. Fury’s just being Fury. He’s trolling. He does it well, especially to British Olympians, just ask David Price.

Finally, who do you have winning the AJ vs Fury fight? If they were to fight this year, I would favor Fury by decision. After 2016, who knows? I need to see Joshua fight a couple distance fights before I get fully behind him as the Heir Apparent of the heavyweight division.

TWITTER COP-OUT

Hey Doug,

Big fan of the mailbag and like you I think it’s time Manny moves on as he has nothing left to prove. I thought you copped out though, you’ve been wrong-BADLY so I might add in your opinion of their two fights. Instead of just telling the Twitter-verse Pac is clearly better than Timmy, you just said he gets in his head like Manny/Timmy is some kind of modern day Ali/Tyson hypothetical psyche job (which would have happened if those two fought)-they’ve fought 36 rounds Doug, Bradley’s won maybe six tops. This is like saying Winky got in Tito’s head-uh no, he’s just a lot better. – George

Wright DID get into Trinidad’s head. That’s what a better boxer does to a lesser boxer. He stood up to Trinidad’s power, didn’t back up, kept a hard jab in his face and made the future hall of famer doubt himself.

Bernard Hopkins got into Tito’s head (and eventually into the Puerto Rican legend’s ass). Oscar De La Hoya did too, though to a lesser extent. Mike Tyson got into his opponents’ heads before they stepped into the ring, that’s what helped make him “the Baddest Man on the Planet” from 1986-1990. Muhammad Ali got into his opponents’ heads before AND during his fights. That’s why he was “The Greatest.” Mayweather got into Paacquiao’s head before and during their “fight.”

I think Bradley won more than six rounds in three 12-rounds bouts with Pacquiao. (I’ve got him winning 10, and there were at least six or seven close rounds that I could have scored for Desert Storm.)

Anyway, I think I gave Pacquiao his due props for a terrific performance on Saturday. He was at his best and he fought the right fight. I know I tweeted this during the fight. I don’t think I “copped out,” or disparaged Pacquiao’s performance at all by including that he got in Bradley’s head.

JOSHUA, VALDEZ AND ABRAHAM

hi doug, hope you are fine 3 comments on what happened saturday for which i would be grateful to have your opinion

1.) joshua – is his management not making a mistake to have let him fight for a world title so soon because they suspected that martin was nothing special?

i think that joshua is the real deal but he is still untested and his victory over a mediocre martin (who has never beaten anybody) does not prove a lot. however with now a word title in his hands (which is not really deserved as he still has not really beaten anybody) wont he get big fights a bit too soon?

the guy looks very good but he only has 16 fights and has been only once above 3 rounds. despite his true qualities is it not going too fast? what are your views on that?

2.) oscar valdez jr – it has been quite a long time that i did not have the feeling i had when i saw oscar valdes jr fight on saturday. i had heard very good things about him but that was the first time i saw him fight- i loved everything i saw and i also thought that he had a great interview after the fight.

i might get carried away but i think that this guy has the potential to be the next superstar of boxing am i getting too enthusiastic? what do you think should be next for him?

3- arthur abraham – i never really liked abraham but what a pathetic show on saturday.abraham has always lost decisively every time he had to fight some real quality fighter (froch- ward ..etc) and i think he is typically the kind of boxer who is just decently good but who would never have been a world champion without those numerous titles given by several federations.

ok he is not the only one but when i saw how awful he was on saturday it really made me think that you dont need to be that good anymore to have a piece of a world title in boxing.

keep up the good work and i cant wait to see oscar valdes to fight again (he really impressed me a lot and against a guy who was quite durable). – chris from france

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and questions, Chris. I’ll respond to them in order:

1.) joshua – is his management not making a mistake to have let him fight for a world title so soon because they suspected that martin was nothing special? I don’t they’re making a mistake. Joshua is gifted and very mature for a pro with only 16 bouts. Yes, he needs more experience, more quality rounds, before taking on the very best of the heavyweight division (Fury, Klitschko, Wilder, Povetkin, maybe we can toss Haye in that group too) but they don’t have to make those bouts this year.

however with now a word title in his hands (which is not really deserved as he still has not really beaten anybody) wont he get big fights a bit too soon? Nah. The fights will be “big” because he’s a budding start but they won’t be against opponents he can’t handle. I don’t see anyone in the IBF’s top 10 that AJ and Eddie Hearn need to worry about (apart from Joshua Parker and maybe Kubrat Pulev – and I would make him a slight favorite over both).

the guy looks very good but he only has 16 fights and has been only once above 3 rounds. True. Eddie and Team Joshua need to get their man more rounds.

despite his true qualities is it not going too fast? what are your views on that? So far, so good for AJ.

2.) oscar valdez jr – it has been quite a long time that i did not have the feeling i had when i saw oscar valdes jr fight on saturday. i had heard very good things about him but that was the first time i saw him fight- i loved everything i saw and i also thought that he had a great interview after the fight. Valdez is a terrific interview and a very nice, down-to-earth guy. Boxing fans are going to really take to him, and he’s going to deliver. He never looked better than he did in the Gradovich fight (and that’s because he put in the work like never before and he seems to be a good fit with his trainer Manny Robles, and let’s be honest, Gradovich had the perfect style for him – so props to Oscar’s manager Frank Espinoza).

i might get carried away but i think that this guy has the potential to be the next superstar of boxing am i getting too enthusiastic? You’re getting a little too enthusiastic, but that’s OK. That’s a good sign – for Valdez, Espinoza, Top Rank, the featherweight division and the sport.

what do you think should be next for him? Valdez is the WBO’s No. 1 contender at featherweight. If Vasyl Lomachenko moves up to 130 pounds to challenge Rocky Martinez and vacates the WBO’s 126-pound title, I think Team Valdez should target the WBO’s No. 2-rated contender Matias Adrian Rueda, an undefeated (26-0, 23 KOs) fighter from Argentina, and fight for the vacant belt. I think Valdez can beat him. If he gets a title, I’d love to see Valdez eventually defend it against fellow Olympian Joseph Diaz Jr. That would be a hell of a fight.

3- arthur abraham – i never really liked abraham but what a pathetic show on saturday. I liked Abraham during his IBF middleweight title reign and during the Super Six tournament (even though he’s acold-blooded MoFo). Not so much since the Super Six. I respect his longevity in the sport, but he never evolved beyond that stalking peak-a-boo style, which is too bad. He’s a tough son of bitch, but hopelessly one-dimensional.

abraham has always lost decisively every time he had to fight some real quality fighter (froch- ward ..etc) and i think he is typically the kind of boxer who is just decently good but who would never have been a world champion without those numerous titles given by several federations. That’s probably true, but the man has done well for himself as a modern beltholder (which shows the worth of the alphabet titles and good promotional backing).

THANK YOU MANNY, F__ OFF FLOYD FANS

Dougie,

I’ve not seen Manny give this type of performance in a while. And a well-deserved thank you for a good fight to both fighters, Manny and Tim. I know many readers will reference back to the Mayweather fight. Especially Mayweather fans. There were two major things they forget or choose to ignore are; Manny had a torn rotator cuff, and who knows what was in those IV bags that Mayweather had injected after the weigh-ins. So yes, Manny lost…but even then the punch stats showed it was a much closer fight than the score cards indicated. And Manny thank you for the many entertaining fights, and good luck. – RYazzie

Good ole Manny has been in a lot of entertaining fights, hasn’t he? I was thinking about it after Saturday’s performance (which was a pretty decent scrap), I was on press row for Pacquiao’s U.S. debut and second world title victory against Lehlo Ledwaba 15 years ago, and from that impressive launching point, I covered his fights against the late Agapito Sanchez, Emmanuel Lucero, all three bouts with Erik Morales, the rematches with Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez, David Diaz, De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey and the first bout with Bradley. That’s 14 bouts that included two classic 12-round battles (Morales I and Marquez II), one all-time great KO (Hatton) and several dynamic virtuoso performances. Pac’s had a hell of a run.

I know many readers will reference back to the Mayweather fight. Especially Mayweather fans. S__t, not MY readers. I got a couple Tweets from lonely ass Mayweather fans immediately after Saturday’s fight, spouting the usual (“This fight proves how great Floyd isÔǪ yadda, yadda, yadda”), but no emails. I think they know better. Hey, what else are Mayweather fans going to do right now? Root for Adrien Broner?

There were two major things they forget or choose to ignore are; Manny had a torn rotator cuff, and who knows what was in those IV bags that Mayweather had injected after the weigh-ins. Nothing was in those IV bags, it was just a lot of extra fluid to help Floyd cover up whatever was in his system. (And anyone who says he was dehydrated from making weight needs to stop trying to look gangsta and pull that TMT cap up over their eyes so they can see straight.) And yeah, I believe Pacquiao entered the bout with a damaged wing, but that was on him. He chose to go through with the fight considerably less than 100 percent, so he’s got to live with that choice. If it made a difference in the outcome, he short changed himself and his fans.

So yes, Manny lost…but even then the punch stats showed it was a much closer fight than the score cards indicated. All those pathetic punch stats showed us was that it’s past time for both Manny and Floyd to call it a career.

DRUNK OBSERVATIONS ON PACQUIAO-BRADLEY

Forgive me as I am writing this email while I am drunk. A few observations about the Pacquiao-Bradley fight:

I was very surprised to see the final power punch stat numbers. I believe that Bradley only landed 3 less power punches than Manny. That tells me that either Manny is old and can’t get out of the way or he knew that Bradley could not hurt him. Even though he did.

I can’t remember what round it was that Bradley hurt him. I can’t help but think that a bigger and younger puncher would have taken Manny out.

I am not going to buy any of this “Manny is back” bulls__t that Arum or anyone else will throw on us.

I was pleasantly surprised that Manny did not step off the gas after the second knockdown. That was a little bit of the old Manny “smell my balls” towards his opponent attitude.

Bradley did not help his cause by throwing punches from rounds 2 to 7 from a mile away. He made it easy for Manny to counter him.

I can’t help but think that Mayweather is getting his people to make gifs from this fight and post it all over social media.

Did you see Bob Arum in the ring after the fight? I thought he was going to have an orgasm thinking about the fact that Manny did not suck in this fight. – Bill

Good grief, Bill. An “Arumgasm”? That’s not a mental image anyone cares to have dancing around in their heads today. No more drunk observation emails, OK?

I was very surprised to see the final power punch stat numbers. I believe that Bradley only landed 3 less power punches than Manny. That tells me that either Manny is old and can’t get out of the way or he knew that Bradley could not hurt him. I think it’s the latter. That’s part of the reason Pacquiao was so relaxed and able to let his hands flow.

Even though he did. I can’t remember what round it was that Bradley hurt him. Bradley had moments and landed good, clean shots in Rounds 3, 5, 6 and 8 (when he swarmed Pac along the ropes).

I can’t help but think that a bigger and younger puncher would have taken Manny out. I agree. I think Kell Brook and Terence Crawford would either clip Manny for the count or wear him down to a stoppage.

I am not going to buy any of this “Manny is back” bulls__t that Arum or anyone else will throw on us. Good for you! I’m not either. (Seriously, I’m not. I mean that.)

I was pleasantly surprised that Manny did not step off the gas after the second knockdown. Me too.

That was a little bit of the old Manny “smell my balls” towards his opponent attitude. OK, that’s just gross.

Bradley did not help his cause by throwing punches from rounds 2 to 7 from a mile away. He made it easy for Manny to counter him. #BlameAtlas

I can’t help but think that Mayweather is getting his people to make gifs from this fight and post it all over social media. What else are they gonna do, root for Adrien Broner?

EIGHT-WORD EMAIL

Manny tonight vs the Canelo that fought Cotto? – Miguel from Chiraq

I think it would go the way most folks think Canelo-Khan will go. Canelo would have trouble with Pacquiao’s quickness, speed, activity and in-and-out movement in the early rounds, perhaps into the middle rounds, but he would eventually time and catch future hall of famer with a power shot that abruptly ends the fight.

GOOD-BYE TO A BOYHOOD HERO

Hi Doug,

The frenetic feet and volume punching are long gone but Pacquiao fought like an old master on Saturday night against Timothy Bradley. His defense was tight and his counterpunching was sharp and sneaky; I also thought he cut off the ring much better than in past bouts. This was definitely the best fight of their trilogy and though Bradley came up short, he fought a much more disciplined fight and certainly had his moments. Bradley is a world-class fighter and will come back from the loss, Pacquiao just happened to have his number in this matchup. Kudos to Tim for taking the loss so well, it’s easy to be humble in victory but he’s proved himself to not only be an elite competitor but also a great sportsman. I hope he stays with Teddy Atlas and gets another big welterweight fight.

I was watching some of my favorite Pacquiao performances this week including his breakout win over Ledwaba, dynamic destruction of David Diaz (excellent blow by blow done by you and your friends, actually), his cold cocking of Ricky Hatton, and in my opinion, his two greatest wins: TKO’s of Cotto and Marc Antonio Barrera. At his best he was a joy to watch and demonstrated all the qualities you could ask for in a boxer; bottomless cardio, a na├»ve-like ferocity, and a plethora of punches fired off from all angles like sizzling bottle rockets. The Manny of Saturday night was a shadow of the dynamo that took out Barrera, but he’s older and wiser now. He’s a flawed man and has let me down numerous times but I will always have a deep admiration for him and his ability to overcome adversity. He came back from every loss no matter how brutal. He came from nothing and mastered the world’s greatest, most unforgiving sport. He’s managed to do it all with a smile on his face. It may sound like a stretch, but he’s inspired me to push through the difficult times in my own life and to try and maintain a positive attitude even when it seems like an insurmountable task.

It was a hell of a career. Hope he hangs up the gloves for good and fulfills the next chapter of his life – serving his country and giving a voice to the impoverished people of the Philippines. Thanks for all the memories Manny. – Jack

That was a perfect (and well-written) tribute to Pacquiao (with kind props to Bradley). Well done, Jack.

Email Fischer at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @dougiefischer