Manny Pacquiao returns to the ring Saturday night nearly a year after his mega-fight loss to Floyd Mayweather to take on Tim Bradley in Las Vegas against a swirling backdrop of politics and legacy.
It will be the third meeting of the pair. Pacquiao (37), who has said this will be his final fight, lost a controversial split-decision to Bradley in 2012 and two years later won a decisive unanimous decision against the American to level the score.
This will be Pacquiao’s first fight since having surgery on his right shoulder to repair a long-term rotator cuff problem, an injury he said robbed him of his power in a lacklustre showing against Mayweather in boxing’s richest ever contest.
“I have been working on my right hand and my right hook, which is very good,” said Pacquiao, who has not had a knockout since 2009. “My right shoulder is healed and that is good, because I can use it with real power.”
While his legion of fans would love to see the Filipino deliver a vintage performance, there may be even more on the line than the boxing records of Pacquiao (57-6-2) and Bradley (33-1-1). Pacquiao, one of the most charismatic and accomplished boxers of his generation, is looking ahead to focusing full attention on his family and Filipino politics.
Already serving as a congressman in the Philippines, Pacquiao is in the midst of a campaign for the senate, a bid that would benefit greatly from a crowning victory in the welterweight showdown.
Win for my country
“It is very important to get the win for my country and the people in the Philippines, but the most important thing is a win for my country and a win for my legacy in boxing,” he said.
Pacquiao has been catching fire over a remark he made in an interview on Philippine TV when the devout Christian was asked his view on same-sex marriage. The former eight-division champion became a villain to the LGBT community for saying their behaviour was “worse than animals”.
The Filipino southpaw later apologised. “I’m sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals. Please forgive me for those I’ve hurt. God Bless!” Pacquiao wrote on Twitter.
The fighter lost a Nike sponsorship over the controversy and his retinue fended off a potential assault attempt outside a Los Angeles restaurant from someone enraged by his remark.
Meanwhile, at the O2 Arena in London tonight, unbeaten heavyweights Anthony Joshua and Charles Martin will fight for the IBF world title.
England’s Joshua, who will have the majority of the 20,000 spectators baying for him, predicts it will be over by the sixth round.
Squeamish
Martin, fighting outside of the US for the first time, is similarly bellicose. It will not be an evening for the squeamish.
Currently, the sport has four world heavyweight champions, a notion that is absurd to traditionalists and the uninterested.
At stake here, then, is just the quarter of the world title that Martin has owned since it was gifted to him when the IBF stripped Tyson Fury for reasons too obtuse to elaborate on after his victory in Germany over Wladimir Klitschko last November.
