PACQUIAO-BRADLEY FACEOFF IN NEW YORK

source: PhilBoxing.com

Feb. 22, 2012, New York, N.Y. -- Max Kellerman (ctr), host of HBO "Faceoff" talks with superstar Manny Pacquiao (2nd R), undefeated Jr. Welterweight champion Timothy "The Desert Storm" Bradley Jr.(2nd L), Bradley trainer, Joel Diaz (L) and Pacquiao trainer, Freddie Roach (R) during a filming in New York for their upcoming World Welterweight title mega-fight.


Promoted by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions, Tecate, AT&T and MGM Grand, Pacquiao vs Bradley will take place, Saturday, June 9 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, live on HBO Pay Per View.

Photo Credit: Chris Farina - Top Rank.

Manny Pacquiao Don't Take My Kindness for Weakness

source: Shawn Craddick | Boxing Socialist

The tension is in the air. You could cut it with a knife. I'm pretty sure Manny would not be laughing in Mayweather's face like he did with Marquez and now Timothy Bradley. I think over the last year or so, there has been a distaste for each other. So far on the receiving end Mayweather has gotten the worse of the two. He has Mayweather tied up with legal action about his alledged PED use. It has to be hard making a fight when your sueing the other person. If we had to give their fight a title, you could use "No Laughing Matter".

Manny Pacquiao's rise up the ranks is almost unheard of and lately he seems to be slowing down. So many reason's are being thrown around. From over training, to getting old, to all sorts of things. Maybe Manny himself is just starting to lose interest in fighting. Sometimes after a person converts his religion or takes it seriously, their attitude changes. It's not the hurt business no more. It's about Peace and Love. Pacquiao has some fans wondering if this will be a hinderance in his fight with Timothy Bradley because Bradley is bringing his all to Pacman.

I'm sure that will probably be the case until Bradley hits Pacquiao real good. Then as the old saying goes, don't take my Kindness for Weakness. Manny can go into beast mode when he is pushed to that limit. That's what would make the Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight explosive because Floyd can get you riled up before the fight even starts. He goes right at you in the pressers. He can get underneath your skin. So much build up will have Pacquiao jumping out the gate. They say pressure burst pipes, but Mayweather's defense hardly ever get's broken into. Well, first things first we must see how Pacman does against Bradley and Mayweather vs Cotto. Then Toprank can get the HYPE machine going again. Hopefully this time, there will be no let downs.

Pacquiao: My Son Wants Me To Fight Mayweather, Retire

source: Edward Chaykovsky | BoxingScene.com

Forget the fans. Forget the media. WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao is feeling the pressure at home. Pacquiao's eleven-year-old son, Emmanuel Jr., is pushing his father to retire from boxing - but not before he fights and beats his welterweight rival, WBC champion Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Pacquiao would have loved to fight Mayweather in May, but claims the undefeated boxer is too concerned with keeping all of the money. According to Pacquiao, he will agree to the fight at any time, but only if Mayweather agrees to a 50-50 revenue split. Mayweather offered him a guarantee of $40 million dollars, with no pay-per-view revenue.

“[My son says] 'Dad, I want you to retire, but before, you have to fight Mayweather and beat him,“’ Pacquiao said. “I'm willing to fight Mayweather. But I have to fight the guys who are hungry to fight me. Timothy Bradley is strong, and he can punch. He's a good boxer, so it's a challenge to fight a guy like that.”

“I was in the Philippines, and I told him, `We need to make this fight happen,“’ I said I would agree to a 50-50, and he said, `Oh, I'll give you a $40 million guarantee, and no pay-per-view. I'll take all the pay-per-view.’ I don't accept that offer. It's kind of embarrassing to me. It's trying to take advantage of me. He doesn't want to fight.”

Pacquiao Admits: I'm Concerned About Bradley's Head

source: Osman Rodriguez | BoxingScene.com

WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38KOs) has watched the tapes and he appears to be worried. For his upcoming fight, the Filipino superstar's main concern is the alleged head butts of Timothy Bradley (28-0, 12KOs).

In some of his past fights, Bradley's opponents have made accusations that he intentionally comes charging in with his head, with several of those opponents suffering bad cuts or facial swelling. Bradley has denied these accusations, but even Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, has expressed the same concern regarding the unbeaten boxer's head use.

"Timothy Bradley is undefeated but I am concerned about the head butts and I have to prepare for that. We have to study [his fights] to see what I'm going to do to keep away from that head butt," Pacquiao said.

The fight takes place on June 9th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Tim Bradley: If I Take Pacquiao's Power, It's a Long Night!

source: Ryan Burton | BoxingScene.com

BoxingScene.com recently spoke with WBO junior welterweight champion Tim Bradley about his upcoming fight against Manny Pacquiao. The undefeated Bradley will be venturing up to welterweight for the second time in his career. He insists that the weight won't be a factor and that in fact he will be better with the additional weight.

"I walk around over at over 160 pounds," stated Bradley. "147 pounds is my natural weight class. The fans will see that on June 9th," he continued.

The Palm Springs, California based fighter feels that the key to the fight won't be the weight but will be his ability to absorb the powerful Filipino's punches. He said that he will know early on if he is able to withstand Pacquiao's power.

"The key is going to be if I can take his power. I will know early. I will know by the second round if I can take it. If I can then Pacquiao is in for a long night," Bradley told Boxingscene.

The next obvious question is what will Bradley do if he feels that he can't take Pacquiao's punches. Bradley said that he will have a plan for that scenario as well.

"If I have a problem with his power, I will have a plan for that too. (Trainer) Joel (Diaz) is already working on a game plan. We go into every fight with a Plan A, B and C. We have different plans for different scenarios. I will be ready and I will be able to adjust in the ring," said Bradley.

Bradley bares strategy vs Pacquiao

source: ABS-CBNnews.com

MANILA, Philippines – Unbeaten American boxer Timothy Bradley said he’ll use his quickness and counter-punching skills to throw Filipino champion Manny Pacquiao off balance.

“When I get into the fight, I should prevail, I should definitely prevail...land shots on Pacquiao that other fighters didn't land and get out of trouble....counter-punch when I need to,” Bradley told Boxing Scene.

Bradley knows the fighting congressman has had difficulty handling Juan Manuel Marquez, who is considered an excellent counter-puncher.

Bradley noted that he’s younger than Marquez, which could be his edge.

“Marquez is a great fighter, a great counterpuncher and just a great fighter - but he's 38 years old,” he said.

“I'm very young, determined. I'm the young lion,” Bradley added.

Strong chin

Bradley, who has 28 victories against 1 no contest, said the outcome of the fight would now only depend on his capability to absorb Pacquiao’s punches.

“If he catches me on the chin flush and I don't go anywhere - it's going to be a long night baby. I have a really good chin. I have a solid chin,” he said.

Bradley had most of his fights at the junior welterweight division and is smaller than Pacquiao.

But Bradley said he has experienced fighting bigger boxers and survived.

“Kendall [Holt] is a big guy, naturally bigger than Manny and he's very strong… I don't know if Manny can hit harder than that,” he said.

Holt dropped Bradley with a huge left hook in their WBC/WBO junior welterweight fight in 2009. But Bradley would outbox Holt to pull off a unanimous decision and take home the titles.

Bradley Very Confident: I Should Definitely Beat Pacquiao!

source: Rick Reeno | BoxingScene.com

WBO junior welterweight Timothy Bradley (28-0, 12KOs) is very, very determined to become the first boxer to defeat Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38KOs) since 2005. Last week, Bradley signed a contract to challenge Pacquiao for the WBO's welterweight title on June 9th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Bradley sat down with BoxingScene.com to discuss the biggest fight of his career.

BoxingScene.com: You've noticed Pacquiao having some issues in his last couple of fights. Do you believe that he's finally slowing down?

Bradley: I don't know if he's slowing down, but he's had a lot of complications and excuses the last couple of times. Everybody is pointing fingers and saying 'Pacquiao didn't do this' or 'Pacquiao didn't listen to this.' I'm really curious though. I'm real curious [to see] if that's true or not.

I think right now is the best time to face Pacquiao, [who is] coming off a kind of controversial win with [Juan Manuel] Marquez. Marquez is a great fighter, a great counter-puncher and just a great fighter - but he's 38-years-old. He's not like he used to be 38. He's not fresh like he used to be, when he was in his 20's.

BoxingScene.com: The qualities that you bring to the fight.

Bradley: I'm very young, determined. I'm the young lion. I can box, as well as brawl, and I can counter-punch as well. I love to counter-punch. I'm quick; I can get in and out from danger. I have great defense. I feel like I'm a major step for Pacquiao. I think it's a winnable fight for me.

BoxingScene.com: Last year, everybody gave you a lot of heat for taking a pass on the Amir Khan fight. And now you've landed one of the two biggest names in the sport, for considerably more money than what you would have made for Khan.

Bradley: I’m excited that he's decided to challenge me. I'm excited that my manager Cameron Dunkin, the best manager in the game hands down - he definitely delivered. And of course I thank my wife and Team Bradley for always believing in me and always pushing me hard in training camp. We knew what we were trying to do. We always had a goal and that's to face the best in our minds. And I stuck to it and now look at this. Everyone was giving me [hell] about the Amir Khan thing. You know what, this is the real deal right now and we're fighting the best fighter in the world, Manny Pacquiao.

BoxingScene.com: Pacquiao seems to struggle with pure counter-punchers. That's not really your style of fighting. Do you believe that you might have to counter-punch more often in this fight?

Bradley: I really don't know. I haven’t been in the ring with him yet. I really don't know exactly on how it’s going to go. It all depends on how Pacquiao comes out and then I'll make my adjustments in there. I already have a couple of game plans in my mind. When I get into the fight, I should prevail, I should definitely prevail...land shots on Pacquiao that other fighters didn't land and get out of trouble....counter-punch when I need to. I know Pacquiao likes to come forward and likes to bang as well.

BoxingScene.com: Thoughts on Pacquiao's power.

Bradley: If he catches me on the chin flush and I don't go anywhere - it's going to be a long night baby. I have a really good chin. I have a solid chin. I've been down officially one time. I don’t count that second knockdown with Kendall Holt. I don’t count that bro. I didn’t even go down. The first knockdown of course, a punch that I didn't see. He has power. I know he has 13 knockouts or so, but he has power. I don't know if Manny can hit harder than that. Honestly, I don’t know. Kendall is a big guy, naturally bigger than Manny and he's very strong. When I fought him he was primetime. We'll have to see. After the first round...I'll know what I can do after the first round.

Boxingscene.com: When you previously made a move to welterweight in 2010, against Carlos Abregu, most people felt that you didn't look the same as you usually do at 140-pounds. Was there anything that you did wrong, maybe with bulking up, that you plan to change for this fight?

Bradley: At that time, I worked on one game plan for Abregue and he came in with a whole different strategy. I thought he was going to be aggressive and that he was going to come forward and bang me out, but then he came with a whole different strategy. He was the bigger guy, but he laid back and was trying to lure me in. I was like 'man, we didn't train for this.'

Abregua was trying to box a little bit. He was using his jab and trying to set me up for counters and jabs. I was amazed. It kind of threw me off. When I watched tapes, he came in like a wildman with other guys. I think by that, coming in and having to make the adjustments in the ring - it kind of threw me off. He was also a little awkward to hit, to catch his timing.

Bradley Warns Pacquiao: I'll Be Stronger at 147-Pounds

source: Ryan Burton | BoxingScene.com

Last week, WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao chose undefeated Tim Bradley to be his next opponent. The undefeated junior welterweight champion was selected from a list of four fighters that also included Juan Manuel Marquez, Miguel Cotto and Lamont Peterson. During the selection process, Pacquiao received criticism for having two junior welterweights in Bradley and Peterson on his short list of opponents. Some critics said that those fighters would be too small for Pacquiao even though the Filipino icon typically weighs in far below the welterweight limit and seems to be a natural junior welterweight himself.

BoxingScene.com recently caught up with Bradley to get his opinion on moving up in weight to face Pacquiao. Bradley immediately debunked the theory that he will be too small for Pacquiao and said that there is a good chance he will be the heavier man on fight night.

"When I enter the ring I will probably be 150 or 151 pounds, give or take a pound or two," Bradley told Boxingscene.com.

The Southern California based Bradley also said that he regularly fought in the 152 pound weight class in the amateurs and that he will have more power as a welterweight. In July of 2010 Bradley soundly defeated Luis Carlos Abregu in his HBO debut in a fight fought at the welterweight limit.

"147 is my natural weight. People don't know but in the amateurs I fought at 152 pounds," stated Bradley. "People say I don't have power but it is a real struggle to get down to 140. I walk around at 160 or more. I will be a lot more comfortable and have more pop at 147. People will see that on June 9th," he continued.

Pacquiao-Bradley takes place on June 9th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV and will be broadcast by HBO pay-per-view.