Pacquiao vs. Bradley 3 Fight News: Trainer Teddy Atlas Says First Fight Between Both Men Should Have Been A Draw
Veteran boxing mentor and Mike Tyson's former trainer, Teddy Atlas, says the first fight between eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao and WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley should have been a draw.
Pacquiao and Bradley first met in June 2012, with the latter ending up victorious by split decision. It was a verdict that was marred by controversy as no one believed that "Desert Storm" won the bout. The fault was pinned solely on boxing judge C.J. Ross, who scored the bout in favor of Bradley with a tally of 115-113.
A year later, she was once again in hot water after being involved in another judging controversy, this time during the Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez bout in September of 2013. Ross scored the said fight as a draw, with a tally of 114-114, despite Mayweather's dominant performance against the young Mexican boxer, which once again raised some eyebrows within the boxing community.
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Ross later retired from judging after Mayweather-Alvarez.
But for Atlas, the first Pacquiao-Bradley bout should have ended in a draw. In a report by Keith Idec for Boxingscene, Atlas says upon watching footage of the said fight, he was able to concluded that both men had won six rounds a piece, making it a stalemate.
Atlas adds that if he does get to watch the fight again, he would probably "find something else" and have Bradley winning seven rounds to six. Many people have criticized Top Rank for making the third Bradley fight, mainly because they believe that the outcome would turn out the same.
But for the trainer, there is a good reason why both men were pitted against each other once again.
"I say to myself, 'I don't see the backlash. I see a competitive fight. I see a reason for them to fight a third time.' I think that's the way I approach it," Atlas said.
The rubber match between Pacquiao and Bradley is slated to take place on April 9th, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
