Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley to tangle a third time at MGM Grand

Manny Pacquiao

Manny Pacquiao/Photo courtesy of Top Rank Inc.

 

It may not be the most popular move Manny Pacquiao could have made, but it was announced Wednesday that the next – and, supposedly, final – fight of his fine
career will be a third go-round with Timothy Bradley.

Promoter Bob Arum told this newspaper and several others that the fight was done for April 9 at MGM in Las Vegas (on HBO pay-per-view). The contracts still have to be signed.

Bradley, of Palm Springs, holds one of the welterweight world-title belts.

The two first fought in June 2012 at MGM Grand. Bradley was scored a split-decision winner, but virtually every reporter covering the fight saw that as a terrible decision as Pacquiao seemed the clear winner.

They tangled again in April 2014, at MGM Grand, with ,Pacquiao emerging with a deserved unanimous decision.

Neither fight was electrifying. But Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs) did not have Teddy Atlas training him then. He does now, and Arum figures that will make this the most exciting bout of the trilogy.

“I don’t think there’s any question, but that it will be,” Arum said. “And I don’t think there’s any question that as good as Bradley has been, that he’s a much better fighter now with Teddy Atlas than he was before. Without any question, he’s a different fighter and his style is different.

“So people say, ‘My god, you’re doing a third fight with Pacquiao and Bradley.’ I say, ‘But this Bradley is different from the other Bradley.’ It’s really like a new opponent.”

Bradley, 32, fought for the first time under Atlas in November, and he stopped Brandon Rios in the ninth round at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) is coming off a unanimous-decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May at MGM Grand. Pacquiao revealed after the bout he fought with a torn right rotator cuff, which has since been surgically repaired.

The other two opponents Pacquiao had been considering were junior welterweight champion Terence Crawford and former junior welterweight champion Amir Khan.

As for this possibly being the last fight Pacquiao, 37, Arum is not so sure.

“He told me that this would be his last fight, but I’ve heard that from fighters for the 50 years I’ve been promoting boxing,” said Arum, who began promoting in 1966. “So I take that with a grain of salt. So I’m not going to put myself in a position where im promoting this fight as Manny’s last fight when six months from now there’s a change of heart and he wants to fight again.”

The first two fights did approximately 900,000 and 800,000 pay-per-view buys, respectively, according to industry sources.

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Cuba’s Luis Ortiz stops Bryant Jennings in 7th of heavyweight bout

Luis Ortiz/Photo courtesy of Golden Boy Promotions

 

Luis Ortiz of Cuba on Saturday night stopped Bryant Jennings of Philadelphia at 2:41 of the seventh round at Turning Stone Casino in Verona, N.Y. The bout was televised by HBO.

Ortiz decked Jennings (19-2) in the fateful seventh and then stopped him with a subsequent attack.

Ortiz (24-0, 21 KOs) retained his interim heavyweight title belt.

 

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Chris Arreola survives third-round knockdown to beat Kauffman

Chris Arreola

Chris Arreola/Photo courtesy of Premier Boxing Champions

 

Chris Arreola of Riverside on Saturday got up from a third-round knockdown to win a split-decision over Travis Kauffman in the heavyweight semi-main event from AT&T Center in San Antonio.

Two judges – Valerie Dorsett and Ursolo Perez – favored Arreola (37-4-1) by a 114-113 count. The other judge – Wilfredo Esperon – had Kauffman winning 114-113.

The bout was underneath the junior welterweight main event between Omar Figueroa and Antonio DeMarco.

 

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Deontay Wilder to defend heavyweight title against Artur Szpilka in Brooklyn

 

Deontay Wilder

Deontay Wilder/Photo courtesy of Premier Boxing Champions

 

For the first time since 1900, a heavyweight title fight will take place in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Deontay Wilder will make the third defense of his belt when he tangles with Artur Szpilka on Jan. 16 at Barclays Center (on Showtime).

According to a news release, the last time a heavyweight fight was contested in the borough of Brooklyn was when James Jeffries knocked out James Corbett in the 23rd round on May 11, 1900 on Coney Island.

“I’m excited about coming to New York City, I’m excited about displaying my talents and I’m excited about fighting at Barclays Center,” said Wilder, of Tuscaloosa, Ala. ” I want to thank my opponent Artur Szpilka for accepting this opportunity that I’m giving him. I wish him luck. He’s going to need it.”

Wilder, who is 6-foot-7, is 35-0 with 34 knockouts.

Szpilka (20-1, 15 KOs) – a 6-3 southpaw – is from Poland.

“It feels amazing,” Szpilka said, “to get the opportunity to fight Deontay for his heavyweight world title.”

Szpilka is the No. 8-ranked contender to Wilder’s title.

 

 

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