Bradley Confident

source: Nick Giongco | The Manila Bulletin

MANILA, Philippines — Tim Bradley thinks fight fans who watched Manny Pacquiao beat up the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley had actually seen a mirage.

Bradley, next in line to try and knock the pound-for-pound crown off Pacquiao’s head on June 9 in Las Vegas, said the guys the Filipino battered and bruised were “past their prime,” in a live video chat conducted recently by The Desert Sun, a newspaper serving the southern California desert cities of Palm Springs and Indio.

“He hasn’t fought Tim Bradley yet. He fought guys that way, he beat them and looked spectacular. Don’t get fooled by this boxing game.”

What has made Bradley supremely confident was the fact that Pacquiao didn’t look impressive at all in his last fight late last year: a 12-round majority decision win over the 38-year-old Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico.

“Marquez is 38, he’s not 28 (like me) and he’s not as quick as I am, he’s not as fast as I am, he’s not as strong as I am,” said the unbeaten Bradley, who will returning to welterweight for the first time in years.

Installed as a heavy underdog, Bradley promises to shock the world and prove his army of detractors wrong.

“I've been the underdog my whole live. I don't listen to all that crap. People don't know my background, where I've come from, where I've been, how hard I worked to get to this position. They say I was given this position. It was earned through 18 years of my life dedicated to boxing,” said Bradley, who was assisted during the Q&A by Leighton Ginn, the Sun’s man on the boxing beat.

To rev up for Pacquiao and ensure he will be armed to the teeth come fight night, Bradley said he will likely add a week or two to his usual eight-week training camp.

Bradley better be.