Timothy Bradley Jr. believes he's going to have an edge over Manny Pacquiao when they meet once again in the ring two years after his controversial victory against the former pound-for-pound king in 2012.

Bradley, the reigning WBO Welterweight Champion, said Pacquiao hasn't been the same since his glory days in the late 2000s, when he toppled big names such as Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton and Antonio Margarito. He added that the Pacman seems to have already lost his "killer instinct" inside the ring.

The undefeated welterweight champion based his assumption on Pacquiao's latest performance against former lightweight champ Brandon Rios. Coming off a devastating knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquiao easily hit Rios in their bout but he never floored the trash-talking Californian brawler.

"He doesn't have that killer instinct. Yeah, he didn't have that killer instinct in that Rios fight. I think it was because Rios has that power. So he's a little scared of that power, man," Bradley said in an interview with Fight Hype.

"There was times where he probably could've finished Rios, or attempt to, and he played it safe, you know what I'm saying. So I think that's gonna definitely work in my advantage," he added.

Pacquiao Becoming Defensive

Bradley said Pacquiao has become more and more defensive in his past fights, as he recalled his last showdown with the Filipino boxing icon, which ended in a much-maligned split decision win by him.

The American predicted Pacman to hide in his shell this time around, and that might work to his advantage in the fight.

"I think that he might not want to engage too much with me. I know I'm not a Rios-type puncher, you know, but I know in that first fight, he was real defensive for some reason, boy," Bradley said.

"He was defensive. Yeah, when you go back and watch that fight and you see how defensive that guy was fighting me; he was defensive, dude, and he only worked like maybe a minute in every round," he added.

Pacquiao and Bradley agreed to terms last week to book a second showdown for the WBO Welterweight Championship belt on April 12 at MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nev.