By James Slater – Unbeaten Timothy Bradley is not a cocky guy, yet he is an immensely strong person – both mentally and physically – and the ludicrously well-conditioned Palm Springs man has convinced himself that he will not only defeat superstar Manny Pacquiao on June 9th; but that it will be a relatively easy job for him.
Speaking with writer Chris Robinson earlier in the week, “Desert Storm” said: “I truly believe it’s going to be an easy fight.. I’m not saying that Pacquiao is going to lay down or whatever, but I just think what I bring to the ring, I think it’s going to make it extremely hard for him.”
Bradley will enter the ring as an underdog in Las Vegas four weeks after this weekend’s big (bigger!) Floyd Mayweather-Miguel Cotto fight has gone into the history books, yet nobody can write off the former 140-pound champ. The pressure is well and truly on Pac-Man’s shoulders in this fight: pressure on the Filipino icon to prove he is not on the slide.
After a clear win yet a less than impressive one over “Sugar” Shane Mosley, followed by a squeaker of a 12-round decision over arch-rival Juan Manuel Marquez (a fight Ring Magazine readers voted as Robbery of The Year for 2011), Pacquiao has been hearing whispers, even shouts, that he is past it and headed for a defeat.
Pacquiao and his great trainer Freddie Roach naturally disagree, and Roach has gone on record as saying he both wants and expects a definitive KO win against Bradley – another close points win will not be enough. And, as has been reported by ABS-CBNNews.com, Pac-Man is working extremely hard in training camp so as to do what he wants to do.
Earlier today in The Philippines, the 33-year-old all-time great attempted to spar six rounds with Russian contender Ruslan Nogayev, yet the session had to be cut short after Pacquiao busted the Russian’s nose. In need of work after having got himself so warmed up and pumped up, Pac-Man had to work the mitts for “several rounds” with Freddie. Prior to the spar with Nogayev, Pacquiao had done three torrid rounds with another Russian, in Ruslan Provdikov.
Clearly then, Pacquiao is holding nothing back in sparring. Of course, we heard the same thing prior to Manny’s third fight with Marquez, and he still struggled (remember, Roach was suggesting the Nov. 2011 fight might not last more than a round!).
Bradley is working as hard as can be too. This fight won’t be easy; for either guy. For the first time, though, and I’m not sure why, I have a slight feeling Bradley might pull it off. Born to succeed, Bradley always seems to work out the victory. How much of a shake-up will the sport get if Pacquiao is toppled next month?