A third fight between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley Jr. is in the offing and confirmed already for April 9, 2016 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada in the United States.

Bob Arum, the chief of Top Rank Promotions, which handles both Pacquiao and Bradley Jr., stated that the media entities and officials were “unanimous” in declaring that a third Pacquiao-Bradley fight is the most financially attractive for all those involved.

Arum also added that Bradley being mentored by trainer Teddy Atlas should add a new dynamic and interesting subplot to Pacquiao's and Bradley’s third meeting.

However, some fight fans, boxing experts and boxers alike are not too fond of Pacquiao’s decision in picking Bradley again, as evidenced by the reaction on social media and various interviews.

From veteran boxer Shane Mosley, who lost to Pacquiao in 2011 via a one-sided unanimous decision victory for the Filipino:

Boxing fans also took to social media to show dismay for Pacquiao’s decision:

According to various reports before the Pacquiao decision was made, among the contenders who were being considered for the April fight are Amir Khan (31-3-0, 19 knockouts), Terence Crawford (27-0-0, 19 knockouts) and Adrien Broner (31-2-0, 23 knockouts).

"The reason why Pacquiao is choosing [Bradley] is because [Bradley] can't hurt him," Joel Diaz, a former trainer of Bradley told The Desert Sun. "If Pacquiao chooses Bradley, he will knock him out this time. People don't want to see that fight again."

Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 knockouts) and Bradley (33-1-1, 13 knockouts) fought twice before, first in 2012 when Bradley won via a controversial split decision victory; and then in 2014, when Pacquiao returned the favour winning via a convincing 12-rounder via unanimous decision.

The third fight between Pacquiao and Bradley will be for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title.

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