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Timothy Bradley faces Manny Pacquiao for the WBO welterweight title in Las Vegas Saturday
The fight is a rematch of the bitterly contested first bout between the two in 2012
Bradley scored a points victory but received death threats after the fight
Timothy Bradley says he needs to beat Manny Pacquiao for a second time in Las Vegas on Saturday to move on from the controversial conclusion of their first fight two years ago.
The WBO welterweight champion won a contentious points decision when the pair met in June 2012, inflicting a first defeat on Pacquiao in seven years.
Boxing commentators roundly criticized the result while former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis said the scoring showed that boxing had lost its integrity.
Bradley claims he subsequently received death threats and that he was unfairly targeted by fans and the media alike for the decision of the ringside judges.
“It would mean the world to me to get this victory for me and my family because of everything we went through in the past,” the 30-year old told CNN’s Don Riddell.
“It was like I stole something from the world that night. All I did was do my job. People ridiculed me, demonized me.”
Bradley insists these dark experiences made him stronger as a person and will act as the perfect motivation ahead of the MGM Grand rematch.
He questioned Pacquiao’s hunger at the pre-fight press conference Thursday, suggesting the legendary Filipino’s best days are behind him.
Pacquiao has won world titles at seven weight divisions in a career stretching 18 years but has lost two of his last three fights.
“What really motivates me for this fight is what my opponent said,” Pacquiao countered in riposte to Bradley’s claims.
“He said I don’t have the killer instinct any more, I don’t have the aggressiveness any more. This helps me, it helps a lot.”
Although he recorded a comfortable victory over Brandon Rios last November, Pacquiao was knocked out for the first time since 1999 by Juan Manuel Marquez in his previous bout.
At 35, it would be difficult for Pacquiao to resurrect his career at the very highest level if defeated by Bradley for a second time but he refuses to entertain this notion ahead of the contest.
“My mind is set in the winners side not on the losers side,” he said. “I always think positive and not negative.”
“This fight on Saturday will be to prove that my journey in boxing will continue and I’m excited for that.”