Boxing legend Kostya Tszyu agreed with Timothy Bradley that Manny Pacquiao has lost his hunger, but added that the former pound-for-pound king could redeem himself in his April 12 rematch with the undefeated champion.
Tszyu said in an interview with On The Ropes Boxing Radio that Pacquiao has lost his hunger, and he cannot be on top of his game anymore if he will not be as eager as before.
"I agree with what Timothy said, that Manny Pacquiao is not hungry anymore," Tszyu said. "You can't be on top of your game if you're not hungry anymore. I lost my hunger in the last couple of weeks of my fights because when you achieve everything in sports, it's so hard to push yourself over and over the limit."
Tszyu has all praises for Pacquiao, saying that the former pound-for-pound king did a tremendous job in becoming one of the best boxers of all-time.
The Hall of Famer added that he has been very compassionate in his previous fight, including his previous win against Brandon Rios, but Tszyu added that Pacquiao has the opportunity to find his hunger back in his rematch with Bradley.
Pacquiao is itching to avenge his previous loss to Bradley, who took the Filipino boxing icon's WBO welterweight title showdown in June 2012.
"Manny did tremendous, became a legend in the ring, but he lost a bit of hunger," Tszyu said. "Maybe the loss against Timothy may help him to find his hunger, maybe, you never know. Timothy is still a young fighter and still got lots of goals ahead of him and for Manny there's just one thing, to prove that he's the best, only one."
When pressed to predict the outcome of Pacquiao vs Bradley rematch, Tszyu predicts a close fight, but he thinks Pacquiao will win if Bradley will commit the same mistake he had during his showdown with Ruslan Provodnikov in March 2012.
"I still think if Timothy can make some mistakes, like he did against Provodnikov - try to brawl against the fighter that can brawl - he can lose. For Manny, he has to take a very good game plan and should forget the knockout he had and then he can be successful again," Tszyu said.
