Larry Merchant says Manny Pacquiao will have to outfight Tim Bradley in their rematch

Listen to the exclusive audio of Larry Merchant breaking down Pacquiao vs. Bradley II (Photo: Naoki Fukuda)

By Chris Robinson

Boxing’s next big rematch is on its way, as it was officially announced that Manny Pacquiao and Tim Bradley will lock horns yet again inside of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 12.

Bradley won a highly-unpopular split-decision over Pacquiao in June of 2012 and there is definitely some unfinished business on the table.

Catching up with former HBO analyst Larry Merchant over the weekend, he insists the matchup is even on paper.

“I think it’s the fight that had to be made and I think don’t think Pacquiao needs to outbox Bradley,” Merchant revealed. “For me it’s a pick em’ fight.”

Asked what it is about Bradley that resonates, Merchant pointed towards his successful 2013 campaign that saw him win a hellacious firefight against Ruslan Provodnikov before returning to edge Juan Manuel Marquez in competitive chess match.

“His resilience,” said Merchant. “He came back and fought the kind of fight we didn’t know he had in him against Provodnikov. And then he comes back and he beats Marquez. Those are important statements.”

Many saw Pacquiao out boxing Bradley in their first match but Merchant feels that the Filipino star will have to take things even further in the second encounter.

“I question whether Pacquiao can just outbox Bradley,” Merchant said. “I think he’s going to have to outfight him. And we don’t know if that’s where Pacquiao wants to go.”

CLICK  THE  THUMBNAILS  for exclusive access inside the boxing world…

mqdefault (4) mqdefault (2) Beyp40zCUAAhdKf (3)

mqdefault (3) mqdefault (2) IMG_3738 (2)

virgil... Floyd SR mqdefault

IMG_3645 (3) ChavezJr_Vera_PC_140116_005a (3) IMG_4125 (2)

mqdefault (3) IMG_4097 (2) Hopkins photos

IMG_3946 (2) IMG_3975 (2) IMG_3870 (2)

IMG_3950 (2) IMG_3992 (2) get-attachment

IMG_3859 (2) broner_maidana_weighin_4_20131213_1062046059 IMG_3857 (2)

get-attachment IMG_3943 (2) IMG_3529 (2)

IMG_3853 (2) IMG_3791 (2) IMG_3690 (2) - Copy

IMG_3443 (2) IMG_3829 (2) - Copy IMG_3785 (2)

fc5f9d9a6df011e394490e427cf85841_8 193 x 88 (3) Picture Perfect (2) - Copy

IMG_3314 (2) IMG_3172 (2)  IMG_3107 (2) - Copy

.broner_vs_escobedo_10_20120721_1627546442 dc93805e732111e389750e37ae78cba3_8 (2) IMG_3123 (2)

6 (2) 24 (2) IMG_3131 tim and juan

IMG_3131 (3) IMG_3122 (2) IMG_2713 (2)

d9a778534f603735a63f6ff56d6fa9f9 (3) 8 (2) IMG_2812 (2)

IMG_3091 (2)  IMG_2934 (2)  pacquiao_vs_bradley_9_20120610_1941492382 (2)

IMG_2875 (2) IMG_2864 (2) IMG_2843 (2)

IMG_2936 (2) 30 (2) IMG_2731 (2)

IMG_6171 (2) pacquiao_margarito-farina 1340357239_7891_IMG_1273

1367820692_6861_01 download Amir-Khan-weigh-in-480x319

hqdefault porter_vs_diaz_ii_2_20130913_1071864531  20 (2)


Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *