Mas gusto ni WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley na makaharap ni eight-division belt holder Manny Pacquiao ang kaibigan niyang si WBO light welterweight titlist Terence Crawford upang mabigyan ito ng pagkakataon sa kasikatan.
Inihayag ito ni Bradley matapos sabihin ni Top Rank CEO Bob Arum na sina Bradley at Crawford na lamang ang pinagpipilian ni Pacquiao sa huling laban ng Pinoy boxer sa Abril 8, 2016 bago magretiro sa boksing.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing a young lion get a shot at Pacquiao before Pacquiao leaves. Terence Crawford is a good friend of mine and I would like to see him get that shot,” sabi ni Bradley sa BoxingScene.com.
“But of course I would fight Pacquiao in a rubber match.”
PBA, hinihingi panig ni Amores; makabalik pa kaya sa liga?
Dalawang beses na naglaban sina Bradley at Pacquiao sa Las Vegas, Nevada kung saan umiskor ng kontrobersiyal na 12-round split decision ang Amerikano noong 2012 para matamo ang WBO welterweight title pero kumbinsidong nanalo sa 12-round unanimous decision ang Pilipino sa ikalawang laban noong 2014.
Naniniwala si Bradley na malaki ang tsansa ni Crawford na palasapin ng pagkatalo si Pacquiao.
“I think Crawford has a very good chance of beating Manny Pacquiao,” dagdag ni Bradley. “We don’t know how Manny Pacquiao is going to come back.”
Sinabi naman ni trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr., na mas may pagkakataon si Crawford na talunin si Pacquiao kaysa Briton boxing superstar Amir Khan.
“I think Crawford can beat Pacquiao. Amir Khan’s got a glass jaw, if you look at him too long, he’s gonna fall down.
We’ll see, but if Pacquiao hits Amir Khan good, Amir Khan’s gone,” giit ni Mayweather Sr., sa On The Ropes Boxing Radio.
Muli niyang ipinagyabang ang panalo ng kanyang anak na si Floyd Mayweather Jr., kay Pacquiao nitong Mayo 2 sa Las Vegas.
“I’ll look at him like a man that was chasing Floyd for years to fight, a fight that was an easy fight for Floyd,” dagdag ni Mayweather. “I told everybody that the fight was easy. I don’t care how long they waited, when the fight took place, Floyd did what he said he was gonna do and I don’t think nobody was wrong in this situation for picking Floyd.” (Gilbert Espeña)
