Questions stir about whether welterweight champion, Manny Pacquiao, is losing his edge as a fighter. The uncertainty comes after his last four matches being put up for decision, rather than his wins being unanimous.
Fans were flustered by Pacquiao's performance last November against Juan Marquez, who was a difficult competitor. Pacquiao won the fight only by a small margin.
Pacquiao told Rick Reeno of BoxingScene.com in reference to the controversial fight, "It just happened, I think we underestimated Marquez, but we trained hard for the fight. The training was still the same." He continued saying, "I've been fighting with bigger guys and then I fight a guy who is the same size, so I kind of underestimated [him]."
In his coming fighting against Timothy Bradley on June 9, fans and media will be looking for Pacquiao to prove himself.
Pacquiao has been a very consistent fighter, currently winning all 15 of his last fights. However, Bradley might give him a challenge, as he is a very powerful fighter as well. Bradley's downfall might be that he has never been in the ring with a fighter of Pacquiao's caliber.
Bradley lacks in his ability to counter-punch, something Pacquiao has seemed to master. Pacquiao is expected to be able to win the fight if he takes his opponent and training for the fight seriously.
Trainer, Freddie Roach, recognizes the harm that could come of a declining performance and says that if Pacquiao truly begins to lack in his performance, that he will advise him to hang up his gloves.
According to ESPN.co.uk, Roach said, "If he looks bad, he retires. At least I'll tell him to. And he may be the first one who will listen to me."
