In some ways, April 12 is more of a resumption than a rematch of Bradley’s rancorous split-decision over Pacquiao on June 9, 2012. Once the controversy subsided to a dull roar, only questions were left in the debris. If this were business as usual, there would be no answers and only the futility that surrounds the never-never land of a Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. possibility.
But Pacquiao and Bradley will pick up where they left off in the same MGM Grand ring where their first chapter ended in what ranks as boxing’s noisiest controversy during the Twitter era.
Economics and a collection of dwindling options probably had more to do with the agreement than anything. Robert Guerrero’s name popped up as a Pacquiao possibility, but Bob Arum quickly dismissed that one.
If Arum hopes to re-affirm Pacquaio as a pay-per-view star after a reported audience of 475,000-to-500,000 bought his victory in China over Brandon Rios, he needed an attraction. Guerrero would have been a tune-up, another Rios. But a rematch with Bradley represents compelling drama with stage and story already in place.
It’s a dangerous fight, especially for Pacquiao. Most of the momentum appears to be with Bradley. In announcing the rematch, Arum called Bradley a different guy. In the public eye, he is. He underwent a remarkable transformation in the months since he was unfairly portrayed as a villain for the scorecards that gave him the debatable decision over Pacquiao.
He displayed courage in beating former Pacquiao sparring partner Ruslan Provodnikov in the 2013 Fight of the Year. Then, there was his poise and patience in outworking Juan Manuel Marquez, whose one-handed stoppage of Pacquiao in December 2012 put him face down and face-to-face with doubts the Filipino has yet to knock out. He looked good in scoring a decision over Rios in November. Only against Bradley, however, can he really prove he’s still the whirlwind we remember.
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