It was already a huge disappointment to fans when Manny Pacquiao announced his next match would be against Timothy Bradley on April 9 in Las Vegas.
As seen on Yahoo! Sports said, the fight between the 2 fighters have gotten considerably low ratings due to the fact that the match itself wasn't as exciting for fans. The report states that his fight with Bradley was one of the lowest rated fights of the Filipino boxer's career.
As per badlefthook.com, even Pacquiao's trusted boxing promoter Bob Arum said that the fight won't break records in terms of ratings. "Will we do the same numbers for the first two Bradley fights? Probably not," Arum said.
"We're going to try to come as close as we can, and hopefully exceed it, but I understand what we're up against. I've run my numbers and I have done my math. I'm not out here with my head up my [expletive]," Arum said.
Aside from this, Pacquaio has had trouble with the media due to inconsiderate comments against the LGBT community. According to SB Nation, these comments have led to him being dropped by one of his biggest sponsors Nike.
In an interview on TV, the famous boxer said, "If men mate with men and women mate with women, they are worse than animals."
After these comments, Nike issued a statement saying "We find Manny Pacquiao's comments abhorrent. Nike strongly opposes discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting and standing up for the rights of the LGBT community."
The Filipino boxer and politician issued a public apology after the comments. "I'm sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals," Pacquaio said in a statement.
"Please forgive me for those I've hurt. I still stand by my belief that I'm against same-sex marriage because of what the Bible says, but I'm not condemning LGBT. I love you all with the love of the Lord. God Bless you all and I'm praying for you."
With all this controversy, experts believe that Pacquiao may not even continue his match with Bradley and this scandal may lead him to an early retirement.
