I've done similar threads for Mayweather vs Ortiz and Cotto and got some good solid responses. So I'm curious, if you were Tim Bradley how would you fight Pacquaio?
Well, Mannys legs are starting to play up with all these cramps, so if he can get a couple decent leg shots in that would improve his chances tenfold imo.
simple, u box him. he cant stand it. he likes to slug it out, give a show to his fans like he says. u box him, and he gets bored. just look at mosley, jmm
Bradley isn't Marquez. He's gonna have to get in there and get dirty with Pacquiao, he isn't gonna have a choice. He needs to try and win that outside foot battle when they're in the middle of the ring and he needs to throw sharp straight rights and uppercuts on the inside. Even though he ain't Marquez, he needs to try to wait and counter... he has the speed to compete with Pacquiao.
He can fight him similar to how Mosley fought him but with more punches. Bradley needs to tie Pacquiao up whenever he's in a dangerous distance. When he has Pacquiao there, he can pound away at his body with whatever free hand he has and try to out muscle him there, BUT he must make sure he doesn't let Pacquiao get any leverage on his punches up close. Just pretty much bully him around like Andre Ward would. Then of course he needs to feint a lot and use his jab to disrupt Pac's rythem but make sure not to get counter over top of it with a right hook. Bradley needs to be much more crisp with his punches in this fight. If he gets wide and sloppy, he will get KTFO. I really don't even like the idea of him trying to walk down Pacquiao like he normally does vs southpaws. If Bradley goes into this fight with the mentality "I'm stronger and bigger than Pacquiao" then he's screwed. He needs to stick to "My feet and hands are just as fast as Pacquiao" edit: He also needs to stop loading up on his punches and just throw them with the intention of landing and not the intention of trying to knock him out. He does that a lot especially in his last fight. That's one thing I hate about Bradley is that he's quick, but he'll telegraph everything. He'll even flare his elbow out before he decides to jab. and yes he can fight backing up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkHqh0tJwD0&feature=player_detailpage#t=487s
bradley can box. people seem to forget that. not saying hes gonna win, but, if he does what jmm did, it is gonna get interesting
Timothy Bradley has to take away Pac's left hand by eating them flush and repeatedly. Maybe pull a Mayorga or Nate Campbell. Once Manny sees that they have no effect, he will abandon it entirely.
bradley lacks the power of pacquiao, and while his defense is good, it's not bullet proof. he has to play conservatively aggressive. if he tries to play the defensive counter puncher, his lack of power will be insufficient to keep pacquiao cautious and pacquiao will continually become more and more aggressive and either out work bradley or stop him late, most likely the first option. what i would do if i was bradley would be to circle to pacquiao's right (away from his left) and take the lead more than expected. pacquiao is fast on his feet and fist, but not so much in his head. circle to the left, lead with a jab followed by a straight, and then move out of the way of the counter. taking the initiative is key. pacquiao is becoming a more disciplined if not cautious fighter, as evidenced in his third fight with JMM. you can no longer simply rely on him to make the mistake, but you can certainly bait him into it. by using lateral movement, but still taking the lead occasionally to keep pacquiao honest, you have the chance to exploit pacquiao's defensive flaws, and fight a more frustrated mistake prone pacquiao. the last variable is smother pacquiao's out put. it's hard to do because of his foot speed, but after leading with a jab, straight right combination, maybe smother pacquiao with some inside fighting, or if he catches you out of position, tie up before he can exploit. but because pacquiao will be the stronger fighter, in fighting should be used very cautiously.
I like this. Bradley has to fight compact because if he punches wide chances are Pac comes right up the middle and stops him sooner or later, though I have a feeling Bradley has a good solid chin. Fantastic point about disrupting Pacquaio's rythm, feints, lateral movement and other subtle things like bumping sholders, pushing Pacquaio about up close and punching on the hip bones in order to take away Pacquaio's legs (his greatest offensive and defensive attributes) will make Bradleys time easier, a stationairy Pacquaio is easier to deal with than one who comes in at unorthodox angles. Also, Bradley SHOULD push his head into Pac's, if he can open up a cut it improves his chances dramatically IMO.