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With Manny Pacquiao coming off of his worst performance in years against Juan Manuel Marquez, this might be a great time to be Timothy Bradley. He arguably in the prime of his career and he is quick and physical fighter that might give Pacquiao some trouble. In an interview with Ryan Burton, Bradley admits that he wants to feel Pacquiao's power early in the fight.
"Hell yeah, I definitely do. I get in the ring with a lot of people who say they can punch. I get hit with a big shot flush in the chin and I'm like 'that's it'?" Stated Bradley. He also said that if he is able to take Pacquiao's power early that the pound for pound champion will be in for a long night. "If he can't rattle me its going to be one hell of a fight. If its nothing too crazy then it's one hell of a fight. I think I will make an adjustment."
I think Bradley's ability to make adjustments during the fight just might make the difference for Tim. Manny Pacquiao is going to have a very good gameplan coming into the fight, but what if plan A doesn't work all that well? Does Manny have the mental focus to find Bradley's weaknesses and can he exploit them?
Along these same lines, Bradley thinks he has a better chance to win the fight if the fight goes the distance.
"They don't want this fight to go past 5 or 6. The other side wants me to get me out of there early because I get more dangerous as the fight goes on," Bradley explained. "They want to come out blazing and get me in a slug fest. They want me to go out wide and for Pacquiao to catch me in between and hurt me and finish me off. I turn it up after 6 rds when most fighters start to fade," he continued.
Bradley might be echoing my thoughts in this quote. A solid plan A will work against an intelligent fighter for maybe five or six rounds. The intelligent fighter will then make the appropriate adjustments and force his opponent to fight his fight. The big question surrounding this fight is can Manny Pacquiao fight toe to toe with the younger Tim Bradley. Does Manny Pacquiao have the focus and physical ability to bully Tim Bradley?