Pacquiao and Bradley will be facing each other in the ring for the third time at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Pacquiao has repeatedly said it will be his last fight in his roller coaster career spanning 21 years since turning pro in 1995.
The 37-year-old Filipino boxing star said he intends to rush back home right after the April 9 fight to seek voters’ support in his bid to win a senate seat.
Pacquiao’s longtime trainer Freddie Roach said his chances of winning in the upcoming elections will be better if he can put up a good fight and win over Bradley on fight night.
“I told him a KO means he’ll do better in the Senate race. With a KO, the country will go crazy,” Roach told RingTV.com.
A spectacular win by Pacquiao would boost his popularity to new heights and will be fresh in the minds of the voters with exactly 30 days from his fight to the day of elections on May 9.
Pacquiao has an over 95 percent recall rating and part of it will translate to actual votes if his campaign planners can capitalize on the exposure the fight will bring.
Some senatorial candidates are worried Pacquiao will benefit immensely from the massive publicity the fight will bring. The poll body has already said that it won’t block the airing of the fight in the Philippines.
Filipinos are glued to television every time Pacquiao stages a fight and with a happy ending like a knockout win will keep everyone talking about Pacquiao till election day.
“I’m happy and thankful that God, through the decision of the Commission on Elections, to allow my coming fight (against Timothy Bradley on April 9) to be shown on television and listened to on radio and read in newspapers, it has given me the chance to make our countrymen happy again,” Pacquiao said
“I thank all of them for realizing that every time I fight, the whole country remains at a standstill with the crime situation dropping to almost nil while everybody watched and awaited for the results of my fight,” he added.
Pacquiao has consistently ranked 7th to 10th in previous election surveys from the time he filed his candidacy late last year except in February this year when he got embroiled in a controversy stemming from his statement about same-sex marriage.
Pacquiao can relax and stay in the U.S. for a few days for the needed rest if he scores a knockout or a convincing win, as the voters will surely give him their votes as gift for a job well done.
