Pacquiao Vs. Bradley, Third Matchup Coming

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Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley will happen for third time, Bob Arum says - Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley are going to do it one more time.

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, who promotes both welterweights, told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday that there’s a deal in place for Pacquiao and Bradley to square off for a third time on April 9 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas on HBO Pay-Per-View.

“Everything is agreed to with the fighters, but these are fighters that are not strangers to me, and we’ve agreed to all of the terms,” Arum said. “Manny has had contracts with me for maybe 10 years. There are essential points in the contract that have all been agreed to. Bradley has also had big history with us and we’ve agreed on all the essential parts with him.”

Just don’t expect it to be billed as the eight-division champion’s final fight, although it very well could be his last foray in the ring as Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) plans to dive deeper into politics in his native Philippines.

“Absolutely not because it may be his final fight, and that’s what he’s told me,” Arum said. “But I have no confidence that it is his final fight and I’m not going to put myself in a position to be criticized with, ‘Hey, come see his farewell fight’ then in six months he’s back in action. I’m not going to say that. I’m not 100% confident that it is his final fight.”

Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs) defeated Pacquiao in 2012 in a decision that was blasted by pundits and fans around the world. But in the rematch, Pacquiao won decisively, though most observers felt the same happened in the first meeting. That left fans pining for a matchup with either Terence Crawford or Amir Khan in the spring. In the end, Bradley’s name power won out.

“I think it’s an interesting fight given Bradley’s last performance against (Brandon) Rios, it was a different Tim Bradley from the Bradley we’ve seen before and the confidence he’s gotten from (trainer) Teddy Atlas makes it a really interesting fight,” Arum declared. “This is not the same Tim Bradley that fought Manny Pacquiao twice.”

“Anyone who says Bradley doesn’t have a chance against Pacquiao after his last fight doesn’t know what the hell they’re talking about.”