Pacquiao Vs. Bradley 3: Roach Belittles Bradley's Win Over Rios; Pacquiao Says Fans Believe He Won Against Mayweather
Renowned veteran boxing mentor Freddie Roach belittled Timothy Bradley's recent victory over Brandon Rios.
"Desert Storm" fought "Bam Bam" in November to defend his WBO welterweight crown for the first time. He emerged victorious via ninth round TKO, marking his first victory under the tutelage of Mike Tyson's former trainer Teddy Atlas.
Bradley is now slated to defend his title against eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao in a rubber match that is set to take place on April 9 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
And in a report by Ronnie Nathanielsz for Boxingscene, the seven-time Boxing Writers Association of America trainer of the year awardee already began the trash talking towards the opposing team. The 55-year-old Roach mainly took note of Bradley's victory over Rios, which he deemed as insignificant.
"It's the same Bradley," Roach said. "Look at who they put in front of him – an out-of-shape guy who was ready to retire."
"Bradley hasn't beaten Manny yet and he's not going to beat Manny on April 9," he added.
In the official tally, Bradley did score a victory over Pacquiao in a controversial split decision verdict when they first fought each other in June 2012. Pacquiao, however, was able to avenge the said loss through a unanimous decision verdict during their rematch in April 2014.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao believes many of his fans still stand by the fact that he did emerge victorious against Floyd Mayweather Jr. during their May 2nd "mega fight" in Las Vegas.
Mayweather, of course, won the fight via a lopsided unanimous decision verdict, much to the expectations of the great majority of fans. But Pacquiao attests that he should have been given the judges' nod.
"I thought I won the fight," Pacquiao said in another Boxingscene report. "A lot of people, my fans, believe I won the fight."
Despite this, the Filipino boxing icon has repeatedly declared that he would be retiring after his April 9 bout against Bradley.
