Former WBO welterweight champion Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley has made a bold take on the much clamored mega bout between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather.
The 31-year old fighter will be facing Argentine brawler Diego Chaves this weekend for a scheduled twelve-round non-title bout in Las Vegas. It would be the first time Bradley would be competing since his rematch against Manny Pacquiao in April.
In an interview with ESPN.com, Bradley shared his thoughts on the would-be match up that has been laid out on the table for five years now.
"Do I think the fight will happen? I think the fight should happen. I don't know if the fight will happen," he simply said.
While he did give an open-ended response when asked if he thinks the bout will happen, Bradley elaborated on his response on why the entire world needs to see the mega bout happen. And for his part, he believes that now would be the perfect time, given that Pacquiao has already redeemed himself from the two devastating losses he incurred in 2012.
Since his knockout loss to Marquez in December of that year, Pacquiao has barreled through tough opponents such as Brandon "Bam Bam" Rios in November 2013, for his first fight in Macau, China. Five months after, he flew back to Las Vegas to face Timothy Bradley in a rematch, wherein he regained his WBO welterweight title, in more convincing fashion this time around.
Then just this past November 22nd, Pacquiao was able to at the very least bring back his "vintage" form when he handily defeated former undefeated WBO light welterweight champion Chris Algieri, who was knocked down six times during the fight.
Since their second bout, Bradley has been open about his newfound respect for Manny Pacquiao. Which is why when asked about what he though the Filipino boxing superstar's chances were against the reigning pound-for-pound king, he offered an interesting response.
"Manny is definitely a big threat in the sport, still a top dog, and I think he will be a threat to Mayweather, I honestly do," said Bradley. "I think he can clip Mayweather."