MANILA, Philippines – Newly crowned WBO welterweight titleholder Jessie Vargas wouldn't be entirely shocked if Timothy Bradley Jr walked away with a points victory over Manny Pacquiao in their third fight on April 9 in Las Vegas.
Most pundits agree that Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 knockouts) won both of their previous fights despite Bradley officially winning a decision in their first match in 2012. Still, Vargas thinks Bradley can have the last laugh in their trilogy.
"It's a 50-50 fight," Vargas told Rappler. "If Bradley ever had a chance, it's right now."
Vargas is fresh off a ninth round technical knockout of Sadam Ali to win the title Bradley had vacated to face Pacquiao rather than the mandatory challenger Ali.
Bradley won the interim version of the belt by outpointing Vargas last year, but was seriously hurt in the twelfth round before the referee separated the two prematurely, mistaking the 10-second clapper for the final bell.
Vargas thinks the reason Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs) has a good chance to win is that Pacquiao, 37, has been in physical decline for years. Pacquiao, an 8-division champ, hasn't scored a knockout since 2009 and is coming off a decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr last May, after which he had surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff.
"Manny Pacquiao's on the decline and he doesn't have the kind of strength he once possessed," said Vargas, who is campaigning for a rematch with Bradley. "I don't think he's the same fighter he was when he fought Oscar [De La Hoya], when he fought [Antonio] Margarito. I don't think he has the same strength that he was dangerous for in the past.
"He's still strong, still very talented, we all know that. But if he wasn’t able to knock out Bradley in the first two, then I think that (Bradley) should be able to do better with Pacquiao in this one."
Still, Vargas doesn't expect Bradley to stretch his knockout streak to two.
"It would surprise me if he knocked him out. It would not surprise me if he won by decision."– Rappler.com