Making final preparations before squaring off for the second time in less than two years, Manny Pacquiao and current WBO Welterweight champion Timothy Bradley will be looking to further pad their impressive career résumés. The 35-year-old Pacquiao -- who dropped back-to-back bouts to Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez before defeating Brandon Rios in November -- enters the weekend fight with a career record of 55-2-2 while his younger opponent comes in with an unblemished mark. In 32 professional fights, 30-year-old American Timothy Bradley is a perfect 31-0 with one "no contest" outcome. Excited about the path his career has taken in recent time, Bradley said recently that he doesn’t miss the time he spent following his controversial win over Pacquiao.
“Me and my wife would sit there in bed and read all this stuff, and we'd get phone calls, and the death threats rolled in,” Bradley said regarding the backlash he received due to his split decision triumph over Pac-Man in June of 2012. “Written with no addresses, just a letter. Plus I got letters from fans belittling me. Just crazy. Telling me I'm not a true champion, 'don't go patting yourself on the back, you didn't win,' and I'm like, 'Man, this just sucks.’ I was the laughing stock of the media. It was a bad moment. I'm like, 'I don't want to box anymore. I don't even want to live anymore. This sucks, this is not what it's supposed to be like.”
Though he recognizes the unbelievable talent Manny Pacquiao still holds, Bradley also noted that he’s confident in his overall abilities due to the fact that he’s become mentally strong since dealing with the aforementioned troubles. The American champ also pointed out that while his upcoming opponent may not have lost a step, his heart and desire is not as strong as Bradley’s, something that gives the current title-holder an added lift especially since he’s already shown the ability to go toe-to-toe with one of the all-time boxing greats.
“Looking back at all this, I'm like, man, I'm so happy,” he said. “But I'm expecting Manny Pacquiao to come out very aggressive. I'm expecting him to come out and try to prove a point. I think Manny has not lost a step. In the Brandon Rios fight he looked sensational. The only thing I think he may lack is his heart, like I've said. The motivation is not there. He has over 60 fights with all the best, and he's 35. So I'm thinking, man, maybe this is one fight too late for him.”
While Bradley continues to build confidence, Pacquiao -- who has taken down established fighters in Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito, Miguel Cotto and Oscar De La Hoya among others throughout his career -- hopes to rebuild the belief that he’s still capable of knocking his competition out. Questions have risen in recent time regarding Pacquiao’s lack of KO’s -- since the last came in 2009 against Miguel Cotto -- but the Filipino Slugger isn’t worried about his power.
“I want all my fights to be a knockout, but you can't control what happens in the fight,” he said. “I'll convince people this weekend, prove to them I still have the killer instinct. I haven't changed my style, the way I fight in the ring. All I can say is religion has not hurt my boxing career. It's helped me. I stopped gambling, stopped drinking, stopped with the girls. All of us need a relationship with God, that's the most important thing. I'm not introducing a religion, I'm just reading the Bible, day and night. It's our manual to life. When you have trials in your life, you lean on God.”
With another title shot on the horizon, expect Pacquiao vs. Bradley 2 to be an intense fight filled with loads of physicality from start to finish.
Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley: DATE, TIME & VIEWING OPTIONS
EVENT: WBO Welterweight Title Bout
VENUE: MGM Grand in Las Vegas
DATE: Saturday, April 12
TIME: 9 p.m., ET
TV COVERAGE: HBO Pay-Per-View
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