More than eager to score a knockout win is Pacquiao’s longtime trainer Freddie Roach, who is predicting a knockout win for Pacquiao in the ninth round.
“Manny wants to go out with a bang and knock Tim out so I predict a knockout in ninth,” said Roach, a seven-time BWAA Trainer of the Year.
Earlier Pacquiao said he will go for a knockout win when the right opportunity comes as he prepares for his farewell fight ahead of the usual eight-week training camp.
“If I get the chance (to knock him out), why not? I want to win convincingly,” Pacquiao said when asked by reporters whether he’s expecting for a knockout during the fight.
Bradley has never been knocked out in his entire professional career and if Pacquiao scores a knockout win on April 9, he would be the first boxer in Bradley’s career to break the record.
Even before his ninth-round KO prediction, Roach believes a knockout win is possible because he thinks Bradley has not shown any improvement despite his KO win against Brandon Rios last November.
Roach, who is flying to the Philippines next week to kick off Pacquiao’s training camp says Rios was an “out-of-shape” fighter when he lost to Bradley and that was the reason why Bradley looked good and dominating during the fight.
