Roger Mayweather pays his respect to Manny Pacquiao as dangerous rematch with Bradley nears

Roger Mayweather inside of the Mayweather Boxing Club (Photo: Chris Robinson – www.HustleBoss.com)

By Chris Robinson

It’s been well-documented that WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley doesn’t feel Manny Pacquiao is the same fighter who he faced in June of 2012.

On April 12, inside of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, Bradley will face Pacquiao in a crucial rematch an effort to erase the bad taste that was left following his controversial split-decision victory from their first encounter.

Bradley insists that Pacquiao is lacking the killer instinct that has typified his Hall of Fame career.

Pacquiao was stopped in less than six rounds by Juan Manuel Marquez in December of 2012 and Bradley’s belief is that the Filipino star fought an overly-calculated match at times during his lopsided points victory over Brandon Rios this past November.

Speaking with trainer and former two-division titlist Roger Mayweather about the Pacquiao-Bradley rematch, he shared his insight on Manny’s mindset heading in.

“The thing with boxing, like anything else, if you get knocked out, to a degree you’re going to be cautious,” Mayweather stated. “Because the fact of it is they don’t want to get hit and have it happen again.”

Mayweather was stopped on a handful of occasions during a career that saw him capture titles at 130 and 140 pounds and he always found a way to get back on the horse and keep pushing forward.

Asked how he found the mental fortitude within to keep things moving, Mayweather insists that he put his focus on what was in front of him.

“I don’t put that in my mind to say ‘Well, I’m going to get knocked out again’,” Mayweather explained. “It doesn’t matter if I’ve been knocked out or not, I’ve got to find out ‘Can that mother*cker whip me?’ That’s the key about boxing.”

And with a fight as dangerous as the Bradley rematch nearing for Pacquiao, Roger found it fit to do something he hasn’t always done by giving his respect to the Filipino star.

“I think he’ll be back,” said Mayweather. “I think he’s done a hell of a job for his career.”

*** For more on Manny Pacquiao please check out the photo galleries below…