Manny Pacquiao is Lying About Why He Picked Juan Manuel Marquez over Timothy Bradley

Manny Pacquiao made the right decision when he selected Juan Manuel Marquez over Timothy Bradley as his next opponent. Even though some people initially cringed at the prospect of seeing the same fight for a fourth time, there should be no question that, ultimately, Manny did the best he could with the hand he was dealt.

A quick review of Pacquiao’s last two fights tells you everything you need to know about who the better option was. This past June, against Bradley, Pacquiao landed more total punches and more power punches – and he did both at a greater efficiency. Last November, against Marquez, Pacquiao landed more total punches at a lower efficiency, and more jabs at a lower efficiency.

Whereas you could legitimately make the case for Marquez maybe, possibly having defeated his Filipino counterpart on their last go-round (you could also easily make the case that he didn’t), there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Pacquiao was the rightful winner of his showdown versus Bradley.

And because of that, because he dominated Bradley so handily, Pacquiao made the right call when he chose to fight Marquez for a fourth time this December. There is no denying that – he made the correct decision. He opted for what will undoubtedly be a better fight than Pacquiao versus Bradley part deux would have been.

What is interesting, however, is the reason Pacquiao is offering for his decision. Why is it interesting? Because it’s not true. Here is what his advisor, Michael Koncz, put out there when Bradley’s co-manager (his wife) demanded to know why he didn’t get the nod for Dec. 8.“I’m not sure exactly how she got my number but I just told her, ‘nothing personal. Its business,’” Koncz told the Asian Journal. “I wished for her husband, Tim, to have a safe next fight and there’s always a possibility of a rematch next year.”

That was as close as Koncz got to the truth – the “it’s business” portion. But then he went somewhere entirely different with his answer:

“It’s all about the fans,” said Koncz. “Styles make fights. Manny felt there’s more entertainment value for his fans fighting Marquez rather than Bradley.”

Yeah, that sounds great, but it’s a lie. In the aftermath of their horrendous June bout, Pacquiao came out for at least the first few weeks and said that he wanted a rematch. He knew at that time how awful their fight had been stylistically, he heard his fans complaining about how it wasn’t entertaining at all – and yet he wanted a rematch anyway.

When did he change his tune? Right around the time the official numbers emerged. You know, the numbers that said the difference between fighting Bradley and fighting Marquez is about 500K in PPV intake. That’s why he picked Marquez – money. Marquez is guaranteed to be a far superior PPV draw than Bradley would have been, and everyone knows it.

Look, it’s great that Pacquiao ultimately decided on Marquez. That was the right decision, and it showed that the Filipino champ had some serious guts. Regardless of his motivation, picking the tougher opponent says a lot. That said, boxing fans aren’t stupid. Everyone knows what’s what. There is really no need to be cute when asked why this fight got made – just be honest.It got made because it will make all involved the most amount of money possible.

We know it. They know it. You know it.