Of course, that's not to say that I don't think he'll have any success. I just mean that I can't envisage his acheivements at light-welter being replicated at the higher weight. 140 is just his weight, and I won't hold it against him if he chooses not to move up, as I'd imagine some will. Yeah, but again, I'm not necessarily saying that it's the size of the adversary that will trouble Bradley, it's that, IMO, he'll have huge difficulty with anybody resembling a world-class fighter at 147, where as he wouldn't have such problems at 140. If I didn't think it was Pacquiao's strongest weight, I'd say Timbo has an abundantly better chance at 140 than 147, rather than just a slightly better one. In what sense?
I agree with your point about Hagler-esque physique, and your post below where you say Bradley would have Hatton-level success at Welter, I agree. But Pac would not be significantly bigger IMO. Abregu wasn't a good opponent but we saw that Bradley lost a bit of his speed but looked stronger. I would be happy for Floyd or Pac to fight him, both intriguing, competitive fights IMO, something both men, bar each other, are lacking.
As I said to Ed, I'm not implying that Pacquiao would have any kind of substantial size advantage. I just don't think welterweight is a good fit for Tim, regardless of opponent. When I mentioned Pac and Mayweather I meant it as in they're the only two elite fighters at the weight, in which Bradley case is a bit fortunate because if there was a few more(like when Cotto was at the weight and closer to prime, Mosley when not past it, Cintron, Williams, Plastered ******* etc) there I wouldn't even see him reaching the top 5.
Of course, but I picked him to beat Berto. woulda said that at 140 Bradley was a lock to beat Ortiz, need to see Victor against one more 147lber before I can make a judgement on how much he's improved with the jump in weight (I really don't rate Berto at all) But as I said earlier, IMO the fight is pretty much the same at either weight. Being that basically anyone right now is an 'opponent' for Pac, Timmy has to cut a few lbs less in order to fight him, that's all. Don't get me wrong though, I think 140 is Pacs optimum weight and I would love to see him go down there and clean house. If he'd stayed there after Ricky he would've smashed through people like a Light Welterweight Julian Jackson IMO :yep I guess I'm holding out hope for Pac-JMM III in November, but this would be a worthy substitute if it doesn't come off. If th fight is to be at 147, and Bradley does fight again before March next year, what 147lber would you like to see him fight? Bob isn't going for Khan at 140, so who does he have on his Welterweight roster he may feed to Bradley (that is a feasible opponent that won't upset the apple cart)?
Definitely, I don't rate Berto either if I'm honest. He has the neon things, speed, power, etc, but no substance behind it. He's woefully inaccurate, and when he does land a good shot he constantly looks to replicate it, and he's not very subtle about it. Which, in turn, leads to even more clinching, on top of the amount he does due to fatigue. Not a fan in the slightest, which is why I have my doubts about Ortiz, though I've backed him from the beginning, so try not to be too vocal about it. Yep, I say so too. 140, much like Bradley, is Manny's most favourable weight, not that it really matters that often, of course. There are people on the general that insinuate that he'll avoid Maidana at some point. If there's ever a fight to be made around that weight where you'll see an absolute obliteration, that's the match-up you want. There's definitely more depth in terms of talent at light-welter, but, in terms of name value, 147 is what Arum wants, so it's more than likely where Pac stays for the forseeable future. I'm cool with either, under the condition that a JMM fight isn't at welter. It's certainly something that warrants some thought. You'd assume that the inactivity may not be so prominent anymore now that he's left Shaw. Collazo could be an interesting proposition as a marking-time fight, he recently returned on a card in New York and at least offers a southpaw stance and a lot of experience. Of course, he's alledgedly planning to campaign at 154 but I'm sure he'd soon have a change of heart were a Bradley fight to be offered to him. That failing, for purposefully selfish reasons I'd stick him in with an Alfonso Gomez, he at least guarantees some entertainment and surely a fight that goes the distance if nothing else(and is a Top Rank fighter). There's always Clottey, but I'm not really feeling that fight so much, even if it does seem feesible.
Clottey or Gomez would be the likely choices I reckon. Both offer durability but not too much danger (Clottey does if he turns up, but Bradley would still be able to outmanouver him IMO) and would be a decent chief support to Pac-JMM IMO.
Mosley ain't got what he used to have. Danny Flexen on bn's website called him "canderel shane mosley" - possibly blatantly copying my "splenda shane mosley". Tim beats him IMO, shane can't pull the trigger and is too upright, Bradley outworks him for a clear win.