• Manny Pacquiao v Timothy Bradley

Pacquiao must KO Bradley to stay P4P king - Roach

ESPN staff
February 24, 2012

Manny Pacquiao's claim to the pound-for-pound title hinges on whether or not he can knock out Timothy Bradley on June 9, according to Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach.

Pacquiao, who will defend his WBO welterweight crown against Bradley, has not stopped any of his opponents since Miguel Cotto in November 2009.

And after struggling in his most recent bout - sneaking a points decision against Juan Manuel Marquez - Roach feels the time is right for his charge to send out a message. "I think Manny needs to dominate, to get a knockout on June 9," Roach said. "We can't keep saying Manny is the pound-for-pound king of boxing unless he does that.

"But this isn't like [Shane] Mosley or [Antonio] Margarito because Manny carried those two guys. He can KO this guy and I really want to see him dominate the fight. He just needs to dominate in this particular fight."

Meanwhile, Pacquiao has scoffed at suggestions that the Bradley battle will be his last before retirement - which keeps hopes alive that he will meet Floyd Mayweather Jnr at some point. "No, definitely not [my last fight]. I still like boxing - I love boxing," Pacquiao said. "Boxing is my passion and I'm still hungry in boxing, and I still want to fight."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices