The excitement level for the Manny Pacquiao versus Timothy Bradley match is quite low. After the Filipino boxing sensation announced his next match would be against Timothy Bradley on April 9 at Las Vegas, fans were disappointed.
As reported by Yahoo! Sports the first 2 bouts between the 2 fighters got low ratings and this 3rd match would certainly not match the hype of Pacquaio's previous blockbuster matches.
As per badlefthook.com, veteran boxing promoter Bob Arum who handles Pacquiao admitted that the fight won't be big 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.
In addition to this, Pacquaio has suddenly become a villain to multiple fans and communities due to his malicious 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 a local television network in the Philippines, the champion said "If men mate with men and women mate with women, they are worse than animals."
After these comments, Nike dropped the superstar and strongly 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."
With all this bad press, experts and fans strongly believe that Pacquiao may not even continue his match with Bradley and this scandal may lead him to an early retirement. However, according to boxingnews24.com, Bob Arum confirmed he has no plans of cancelling the fight. "The fight won't be postponed," Arum said. "There is tremendous interest in the fight and many people will buy (the pay per view) because it's a good fight,
