Former pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) reportedly picked Timothy Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs) as his opponent for the Filipino pugilist's claimed farewell fight before retirement that is scheduled on April 9 next year in Las Vegas.

The Philippine Star revealed Pacquiao's decision, citing The Mirror's David Anderson, who reported that the sport's only eight-division world champion "bypassed Amir Khan and is going for a rubber match with Bradley".

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It is going to be the third meeting between the two combatants with both men winning one fight apiece. Bradley won via a controversial 12-round split decision in June 2012 before Pacquiao returned the favor and beat him through a 12-round unanimous decision in April 2014.

ESPN's Dan Rafael reported on Thursday that Pacquiao will reveal his decision by Friday this week as the Filipino is said to be contemplating on facing either Bradley, Khan, or Terence Crawford.

Of the three prospects, Bradley's name is the least predicted by boxing pundits, particularly because the pair had already faced each other twice before and Crawford is allegedly being built up as the new face of Top Rank following Pacquiao's retirement.

Khan is the least likely to be chosen because the Briton is under a different promoter and Arum is reportedly not intending to negotiate with a second party for Pac-Man's swan song.

The 83-year-old Top Rank chief, who said that Pacquiao is assured to earn $20 million plus a percentage of profits from PPV and live gate receipts no matter who he chooses as his final foe, is handling Bradley as well as Crawford.

Meanwhile, the International Business Times said that "Bradley is the most logical opponent for Pacquiao" while "Crawford vs. Pacquiao might be the most entertaining fight that can be made".

Many analysts believed that Pacquiao would shy away from a rubber match with Bradley as their most recent bout was a disappointment in terms of PPV buys.

Still, the Filipino opted for more familiarity for his final opponent rather than fighting someone he had not fought before and is also a potentially dangerous challenger for him style-wise.   

Tags Boxing News, Boxing News 2015, manny pacquiao, Timothy Bradley, Manny Pacquiao vs Timothy Bradley