Odds favor Pacquiao at 2-1 vs Bradley

The money is still on Manny Pacquiao for his coming rematch with undefeated American Timothy Bradley.

According to the latest betting lines, the eight-division world champion from the Philippines is almost a 2-1 favorite to beat Bradley on April 12 at the MGM Grand.

As of yesterday, BetUS.com has Pacquiao at -220 and Bradley at +175.

If you’re going for Pacquiao, you need $220 to win $100, and if you’re for Bradley, a wager of $100 gives you $175 in return – if the latter wins.

As far as the odds are concerned, it’s the closest fight for Pacquiao in years.

“At long last, a competitive super fight. I am sure the sports books in Las Vegas are gearing up for huge two-way action,” chief promoter Bob Arum told SB Nation in a recent interview.

The lines also show that more bettors think or believe that the fight may last long or even go the distance.

Odds are at -350 that the fight will go over nine and a half rounds, and they’re at +250 that it will be over before the 1:30 mark of the ninth round.

Based on the result of the first fight, bettors are assuming that Bradley knows how to fight Pacquiao, knows how to survive and knows how to last.

Pacquiao lost a split decision to Bradley when they first fought in June 2012 when a lot of people thought Pacquiao won the fight.

Many were surprised that Bradley lasted the distance against Pacquiao.

Just five months after that loss, Pacquiao faced Juan Manuel Marquez and got knocked out cold. But he seemed to have recovered from those back-to-back defeats.

Last November, Pacquiao outclassed a younger and bigger Brandon Rios in 12 rounds at the Cotai Arena in Macau.

“We’re back,” said Pacquiao.

In the eyes of the betting public, he remains the favorite.

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Pacquiao vs Bradley II: Extra drug testing to be handled by Nevada

The Nevada State Athletic Commission will handle the advanced drug testing for the April 12 rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley.

Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley will undergo additional, more advanced drug testing, but it won't be handled by either VADA or USADA. Instead, the Nevada State Athletic Commission will be in charge of the testing.

Nevada will work with WADA-approved collectors to run random pre-fight drug tests for both Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KO) and Bradley (31-0, 12 KO), who first met in June 2012. That was a controversial fight, with Bradley winning via highly disputed decision in one of the big upsets in recent memory, and arguably the most discussed "black eye for boxing" moment in over a decade.

That fight had no random testing before the bout, but Pacquiao's last fight in November -- a win over Brandon Rios in Macao -- did, his first time dealing with additional drug testing. Bradley has been an outspoken proponent of random testing, and has worked with VADA.

Are you comfortable with Nevada handling the testing, or do you fear that they're too much of a "boxing body" with too much to lose with a canceled fight? Is this a good thing or a possible workaround?

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Ashanti To Sing National Anthem At Pacquiao VS. Bradley Fight

Grammy Award-winning songstress and songwriter Ashanti will be singing the National Anthem at the rematch between Fighter of the Decade Manny Pacquiao and the undefeated two-time division world champion Timothy Bradley Jr. Pacquiao admitted to always being a fan of Ashanti and happened to sit next to the "Braveheart" singer court side at a Knick's game. Pacquiao asked Ashanti if she would like to sing the National Anthem at his fight and she agreed leaving the boxer ecstatic.

"The Knicks may have lost that night, but I felt like the biggest winner in the world when I walked out of Madison Square Garden," says Pacquiao.

Ashanti being a fan of boxing found time in her busy schedule with the recent release of her new album, Braveheart. "I told Manny I was a big fan and was so excited when he asked me to sing the National Anthem at his upcoming fight and I can't wait," says Ashanti. I actually love boxing! Manny's such a champion and I can't wait to cheer him on!"

Both Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KOs) and Bradley (31-0, 12 KOs) will be fighting for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title. The two first fought against one another in 2012 with Bradley coming out with a win, ending Pacquiao's welterweight title reign as well as his seven-year, 15-bout winning streak, making this fight Pacquiao's first fight in the U.S. since 2012.

Pacquiao vs. Bradley happens Sat., April 12 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The championship event will be distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9PM ET / 6PM PT.

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Bradley: Mayweather can fight the winner of Pacquiao-Bradley II

WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (31-0, 12 KO’s) still hasn’t even fought Manny Pacqiao (55-5-2, 38 KO’s) for the second time yet, and he’s already talking about wanting to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. Bradley’s hope is that Mayweather will decide on fighting him despite him recently signing a 2-year contract extension with Top Rank that will take him until 2017. Bradley thinks Mayweather can ignore the Top Rank issues and decide to fight him anyway.

“When Floyd wants to fight one of us or the winner of this fight he can do that. He’s his own boss,” Bradley said to thaboxingvoice. “I’m on my own course [with Top Rank]. If he wants to get on my course, he can get on my course.”

I have a funny feeling that Mayweather won’t bother getting on Bradley’s course with Top Rank to fight him, because pretty soon like in two months, there really won’t be any need for Mayweather to fight Bradley anymore. Once Bradley gets soundly beaten by Pacquiao in their rematch on April 12th, then any reason at all for Mayweather to fight Bradley will have died away completely. As it is, Bradley is still seen as someone that isn’t what his resume portrays him to be.

His win over Pacquiao from 2012 is seen as bogus in the minds of many fans due to the odd scores that two of the judges put in for their previous fight in 2012, and Bradley’s win over Ruslan Provodnikov last year left more questions than answers. Bradley needs to give Provodnikov a rematch because he didn’t show that he was the better fighter. It was more of a case of both guys fighting to a stand still than an actual win for Bradley.

Bradley unfortunately is going to be stuck on his planet with Top Rank for the next three years, and unless he can get a couple of more fights with Pacquiao out of this deal, he could wind up facing the likes of Mike Alvarado, Brandon Rios, Mikey Garcia and Terence Crawford over and over again for the next three years. There’s not much interesting fighters in Top Rank’s stable around the 140-147 lb weight classes once you get past Juan Manuel Marquez and Pacquiao, and Bradley could wind up fighting those other guys for years to come once Pacquiao and Marquez are out of the equation.

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Pacquiao and Roach to start training at Wildcard Gym in Los Angeles this week

LOS ANGELES (March 8, 2014) — Fighter of the Decade MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO and his Hall of Fame Trainer World-Famous FREDDIE ROACH broke camp today in General Santos City in the Philippines and are en route to the U.S. On Monday, at Roach’s Hollywood-based Wild Card Boxing Club, they will begin phase two of training for their mission to recapture the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight championship title that undefeated two-division defending champion TIMOTHY “Desert Storm” BRADLEY, JR. won off of Pacquiao via a controversial split decision in 2012.

Team Pacquiao is scheduled to land at Los Angeles International Airport’s Tom Bradley International Terminal today at 6:15 p.m. PT via Philippine Airlines Flight 102. This link will give you updated arrival information.

http://www1.philippineairlines.com/index.php/flights/actual-flight-status/

“We had a great camp in the Philippines and Manny, as usual, is way ahead of schedule in his conditioning , and very motivated,” said Roach. “The real business begins for us on Monday at Wild Card. We have great sparring waiting for Manny. He wants that title back. If Bradley thinks he’s going to see the same compassionate Manny he saw the first time they fought he is in for a very big surprise.”

Pound for pound titans Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KOs), the lone congressional representative from the Sarangani Province in the Philippines, and defending world champion Bradley (31-0, 12 KOs), of Palm Springs, Calif., will go mano a mano in their eagerly-anticipated WBO welterweight championship rematch on Saturday, April 12 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. It will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. This will also be Pacquiao’s first fight in the U.S. since 2012.

When Pacquiao and Bradley rumbled the first time, on June 9, 2012 at MGM Grand, Bradley’s hand was raised via a controversial split decision, ending Pacquiao’s welterweight title reign as well as his seven-year, 15-bout winning streak. Though both fighters claimed victory neither was satisfied. Destiny may have played a hand in their first battle but it will be survival of the fittest that determines the winner of this exciting rematch.

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with MP Promotions and Tecate, remaining tickets for Pacquiao vs. Bradley 2 are priced at $1,000, $800, $600, $400, $250 and $150, not including applicable service charges. There will be a total ticket limit of 12 per person with a limit of 10 per person at the $1,000, $800, $600, $400 and $250 price levels and a limit of two (2) per person at the $150 price level. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets will also be available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

24/7 Pacquiao/Bradley 2 premieres Saturday, March 29 at Midnight ET/PT on HBO. Show 2 debuts Saturday, April 5 at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT and show 3 debuts Thursday, April 10 at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT two nights before the high stakes welterweight title bout.

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Pacquiao vs Bradley II: Will Ferrell wins own celebrity auction, paying $24,000 for ringside seats to April 12 fight

Will Ferrell laid some some coinage on Tuesday, securing front row seats to Pacquiao-Bradley II via his own charity auction.

There will be at least one A-list celebrity ringside in Las Vegas on April 12, as Will Ferrell bid $24,000 to win his own charity auction's pair of front row tickets to the rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley. The auction was held to benefit Cancer for College.

More info:

Internationally renowned comedian Will Ferrell outbid everyone at his own charity auction, paying an astounding $24,000 for two ringside seats to the WBO welterweight championship between undefeated defending champion Tim Bradley and Fighter of the Decade Manny Pacquiao. Bradley took time off from training to assist in auctioning off the prized ducats along with #2 world-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic, actor Kevin Spacey and #3 world-ranked tennis player Stanislas Wawrinka. The auction took place today in Palm Springs, Calif. at Ferrell's Desert Smash tournament, benefitting Cancer for College, which has been providing hope and inspiration to cancer survivors by providing college scholarships since 1993.

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Manny Pacquiao Next Fight: How Much Does Pac-Man Have On The Line Against Timothy Bradley?

Manny Pacquiao’s next fight will be No.63 since he became a professional boxer. At 35 years old, it’s one of the most important bouts of his career.

Pacquiao will face Timothy Bradley in a rematch of their 2012 welterweight title match. Though it was a controversial decision, Bradley walked away with a split decision and the victory. In his second try, Pacquiao has a lot on the line.

Even though Pac-Man is coming off a win, his upcoming fight will determine a lot, in regards to his career. Pacquiao defeated Brandon Rios in November by unanimous decision. In his first fight after two straight losses, Pacquiao took on an opponent that had little chance of beating him. If he wants to prove that he’s still one of the best boxers around, Pacquiao will have to get the job done against Bradley.

“Manny knows this is do or die for him,” Bradley told ESPN. “If Manny doesn’t win this fight then his career will be over. So this is a must-win situation for Manny Pacquiao. I already beat him once. This fight is for redemption to get credit I didn’t get in the first fight because people felt I didn’t win. That’s what it’s about for me. For him, he has to come to prove that he can earn that title. He’s got to come earn it back, and it’s the end of the road if he doesn’t.”

Following his loss to Bradley in 2012, Pac-Man was knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez and lost without controversy. His defeat of Rios helped him get a win under his belt, but a victory against Bradley could be critical for Pacquiao. After such a lengthy career, there are questions surrounding how much Pacquiao has left.

Before facing Rios, trainer Freddie Roach said he’d advise Pacquiao to retire if he didn’t win the fight. While Roach hasn’t said the same thing regarding Pacquiao vs. Bradley II, a bad loss could mean that retirement isn’t far away.

A potential mega-fight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather is highly unlikely to happen in 2014, but the odds might become near impossible if Pacquiao can’t win his next bought. The demand to see the best boxers of their generation face off lost a lot of steam when Pacquiao suffered his losing streak. Another defeat would give Mayweather even less reason to agree to the fight.

Pacquiao has been in the professional ranks for two decades. Three losses in four tries could be a sign that it’s time to move on.

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