Manny Pacquiao agrees to fight Timothy Bradley on June 9

Manny Pacquiao has agreed to terms to defend his welterweight title against junior welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley Jr. on June 9 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Michael Koncz, Pacquiao’s adviser, told ESPN.com on Monday.

Junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley Jr. will not be an easy opponent for Filipino boxing icon Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, according to boxing blogger Scott Christ.

In an article posted at Bad Left Hook, Christ noted that Bradley is not on the level of Floyd Mayweather Jr., whom he calls “an otherworldly talent and superstar.”

“But (Bradley) is more than a handful in the ring, and won’t be any sort of pushover for Pacquiao,” he added.

Bradley earned his shot at Pacquiao after the Filipino boxer failed to make a deal with both Mayweather and Puerto Rican boxer Miguel Cotto.

Manny Pacquiao agreed to fight Timothy Bradley on June 9 instead, although Top Rank president Todd duBoef said the deal still has to be finalized with the Bradley camp.

Bradley is undefeated through 28 professional fights, and Christ noted that he has been dominant in victories over Kendall Holt and Lamont Peterson earlier in his career.

He also defeated veteran boxer Joel Casamayor via an eighth-round technical knockout in the undercard of the Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez trilogy bout.

Timothy Bradley is current ranked No. 1 in The RING’s junior welterweight ratings and No. 9 in the pound-for-pound ratings.