By Rebecca Bryan
Manny Pacquiao throws a left hand at Timothy Bradley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 12, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada and wins via a unanimous decision. Will Floyd Mayweather Jr. be next? (MNS photo)
LAS VEGAS (AFP) – Manny Pacquiao avenged his loss to Timothy Bradley in convincing style on Saturday, and said he’s ready any time to negotiate the bout with Floyd Mayweather that fight fans crave.
“The line is open 24 hours, seven days a week,” the Filipino ring icon said after his 12-round unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Bradley.
The win rectified what most saw as a grave miscarriage in their first fight in 2012, when Bradley was awarded a split decision win and the World Boxing Organization welterweight belt.
Pacquiao’s energy and precision also backed the 35-year-old’s claim that his boxing journey is far from over – making talk of a mouth-watering Pacquiao-Mayweather match inevitable.
“If he wants to fight, the fight will be on,” Pacquiao said, although history has shown it’s not that easy.
In late 2009 and early 2010, Pacquiao and Mayweather were considered the world’s top pound-for-pound fighters and record profits were expected from a showdown.
But a disagreement over pre-fight blood testing scuttled talks already complicated by the need to satisfy rival pay-per-view outlets HBO and Showtime.
Other negotiations broke down over the division of the purse, and the intervening years have brought a further chill to relations between Bob Arum’s Top Rank Promotions and Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.
“It’s really hard to talk about that,” Pacquiao said. “How many years have we talked about it and it hasn’t happened?”
Trainer Freddie Roach seems to flip-flop as to whether the bout will ever take place, saying earlier this month he thought it would if only because the pool of potential opponents for both Pacquiao and Mayweather is so small.
In the days before the Bradley fight, he seemed less optimistic, but said if it does happen it could be as a career finale for both men.
“On our side, I think Bob wants that fight to be our last fight,” Roach said.
Pacquiao looks set to clash later this year with the winner of the May 17 fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Mike Alvarado.
Pacquiao has fought Marquez four times, and was brutally knocked out by the Mexican star in their last encounter in December of 2012.
Mayweather, 37, will put his perfect 45-0 record on the line against Argentina’s Marcos Maidana on May 3 in a welterweight world title clash.
Pacquiao reclaimed the WBO Welterweight championship belt from American Timothy Bradley in a rematch Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada via a unanimous decision.
It was a vindication on Pacquiao as he was able to redeem himself in front of a pro-Pacquiao sold-out crowd at the Garden, 97% of whom voted that he is going to win the fight. Unlike his first fight when Bradley won via a controversial split decision, the Filipino won in a very convincing fashion vintage Pacquiao to the cheers of fans in attendance throwing punches in salvo from the start to finish controlling majority of the 12-round bout.
Judges Michael Pernick of Florida and Craig Metcalfe of Alberta, Canada both scored 116-112. Judge Glenn Trowbridge from Nevada scored it 118-110 giving only round 4 and 5 to Bradley.(With Rod Mijares)