Marquez’s trainer sees Pacquiao beating Bradley again

MANILA, Philippines – Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain, the longtime trainer of 4-division world champion Juan Manuel Marquez, believes that Manny Pacquiao will emerge triumphant against Timothy Bradley Jr. once again as the two boxers are set to collide in the ring for the third time on April 10 (April 9 in US).

Beristain expects the upcoming third encounter will be more of the same and picks Pacquiao to walk out the 16,800-seater MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with the decisive victory.

“No, I do not think Bradley will have a greater opportunity [to get the win], because Bradley is the same [fighter],” he said in an interview with ESPN Deportes.

Beristain is no stranger to both men as Marquez fought Pacquiao and Bradley on different occasions.

Marquez went up against the Filipino southpaw 4 times, with the first 3 matches concluding in controversial fashion.

Even though Pacquiao dropped Marquez 3 times in the first round, the May 2004 meeting ended in a split decision draw.

In their March 2008 rematch, Pacquiao scored a split decision to take away the WBC junior lightweight strap from Marquez.

Marquez was given the opportunity to avenge his loss to Pacquiao when the two bitter rivals met for the third time in November 2011, but the latter had his hand raised via majority decision.

The outcome was different in their December 2012 fourth clash as Marquez turned the bout in his favor when he connected a short right with just a second to go in the sixth round, knocking his arch-nemesis out cold.

Meanwhile, Bradley earned a hard-fought win over Marquez by way of split decision in October 2013.

After losing his May 2015 blockbuster showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr., Beristain is fully convinced that Pacquiao chose Bradley as his opponent for his farewell fight to secure a jubilant exit from the sport.

“In addition to being a good fighter, Pacquiao is a responsible fighter, professional. He is not going to walk away [from boxing] with a loss, so he chose Bradley. And Bradley is a good fighter, but we all know who will win unless Bradley becomes a very different fighter than what he has shown throughout his career,” he stated.

The International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee also opined that veteran trainer Teddy Atlas will not make any difference in Bradley’s corner against Pacquiao.

Bradley acquired the services of Atlas to prepare him in his WBO welterweight title defense this past November when he routed Brandon Rios via ninth-round stoppage.

“With that fast and difficult style, I do not think Teddy Atlas will create a change of such magnitude that Pacquiao is going to [leave boxing] with a loss,” Beristain stressed. – Rappler.com