Timothy Bradley will look to prove that his win against Manny Pacquiao in their first showdown was no fluke, but most boxing experts are convinced that the former pound-for-pound king will emerge victorious in their second showdown.
Former welterweight champion Ray Mancini predicted that Pacquiao will defeat Bradley easily in their upcoming rematch on April 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
In an interview with RingTV, Mancini said that while Pacquiao failed to erase the bitter memory of his knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez, the Filipino boxing icon was very impressive during his win over Brandon Rios in November last year.
Mancini also said that Bradley's performance during his victories over Ruslan Provodnikov in March last year and Marquez in October last year were remarkable, but he still thinks the 30-year-old American may be ripe for the taking against Pacquiao.
"I think Manny will beat him easier. Even though Pacquiao got caught by Marquez, anybody can get caught. That's just part of the game," Mancini said. "For Bradley, the last couple of fights, the fight with Provodnikov, those are fights that are hard to come back from. Marquez was a difficult fight even though he won. Bradley may be ripe for the taking."
Mancini insisted that he is convinced that Pacquiao was robbed off a victory during their WBO welterweight title showdown in June 2012, saying that the 35-year-old Filipino should have been awarded the victory.
The 52-year-old former welterweight champion said that Pacquiao defeated Bradley during their first showdown, and he expects another dominating performance from the former eight-division champion in his rematch with his former tormentor.
"Manny will beat Bradley," Mancini stressed. "I thought he beat him the first time but Manny wasn't sharp in that fight. But I think he'll beat him easily. He knows now that he has to, it's probably the thorn in his side."
Mancini also added that he sees no reason why the judges opted to award the win to Bradley - unless the judges wanted to please the predominantly-American crowd inside the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Bradley's split-decision was labeled as one of the worst travesties in boxing history. The judges' decision was later ruled inaccurate by the World Boxing Organization, but the boxing governing body did not strip Bradley off his title.
