SAN DIEGO, June 6, 2012 – That Timothy Bradley, what a kidder!
At Wednesday’s final news conference before Bradley’s upcoming challenge of boxing icon and global celebrity Manny Pacquiao on June 9 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, he hoisted an oversized ticket for Section 1, Row A, Seat 1 to a mythical “rematch” bout against Pacquiao on November 10 overhead before presenting it to his wife in the audience.
“Here’s a ticket you guys to the next fight,” said Bradley. “I’m predicting the future… Make sure you all get a picture of this. June 10, tickets WILL go on sale for the rematch.”
Pacquiao seemed amused by the stunt. Throughout the news conference, Pacquiao was at ease and smiled frequently. Bradley was all business, maintaining a serious focus. Game on.
Both men offered thanks to God, their training team, families and supporters. Bradley said he had waiting for this moment all his life. “It’s finally here. I’m a few days away from the biggest fight of my career… I’m ready. I’m ready to shock the world. I’m ready to do whatever it takes in there to win this fight… Let’s get it on.”
Timothy Bradley had fun with his oversized ticket to the mythical rematch, but he’s serious about his approach to beating Manny Pacquiao. Photo: Associated Press.
Bradley, known for his drive and work ethic, said, “Training camp was hell. I’ve never trained as hard in my whole life.”
Pacquiao called his training camp “heaven.” He recalled his young and hungry days, saying he understood what Bradley was feeling. “My team wants to stop me training, but I’m pushing more and more because I know that Brdley is hungry, inspired to train hard for this fight. I’m really sure on Saturday we can give a good fight.”
The trainers’ comments mirrored their fighters. Joel Diaz, Bradley’s trainer, told the media there wasn’t much to say at this point. “We’re ready to win this fight Saturday night. There’s not a lot of upsets in boxing. They don’t come around too often. We’re up for one. Saturday night will be the upset of the decade, Timothy Bradley beating Manny Pacquiao.”
Freddie Roach, who will leave immediately after the bout to travel in order to make it to Canastota, New York on Sunday for his induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, said Manny is very focused. “He has a lot of distractions in his life, new distractions. But we are looking forward to this fight, fighting a resilient undefeated guy. We’ll see you all there.”
After the formal remarks, Roach got right to the point in a one-on-one-interview: “We’re going to kick his ass.”
Can Manny Pacquiao put on the kind of powerful show fans crave on June 9 against Timothy Bradley? Photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank.
After his lackluster, distracted fight against Juan Manuel Marquez in November 2011, this is as close to a comeback fight as Pacquaio has had in years. Bradley’s confidence can’t help but impress. He is undefeated at 28-0 and he has been the underdog before. He is visibly hungry and he’s not about to let the opportunity of a lifetime get away from him.
Will we ever see again the Manny Pacquiao who dropped Ricky Hatton with ease, who dominated opponents on the way to a 54-3-2 record? Fans hope so, because anticipation looms large of someday seeing the long awaited super fight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, now serving his 87 day sentence not too many miles away from the fight venue at the MGM Grand at the Clark County Detention Center.
There is a rematch clause in Bradley’s contract to fight Pacquiao, though nothing is actually on the books as Bradley’s ticket stunt would have you believe. Still, Bradley cannot and should not be dismissed, Roach’s comment aside. Roach is smart enough to consider Bradley a legitimate threat. Bradley won’t suffer a lot of punishment and his determination and strength of will are impressive.
Timothy Bradley displays impressive confidence in his ability to beat Manny Pacquiao on June 9. Photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank.
A Bradley victory would create a major uproar on many levels and it would create the absolute need for a rematch this fall before any “fight of the century” could take place. But the bigger issue is what the pay-per-view numbers are for this fight, a bigger issue than the actual outcome.
With Floyd Mayweather, boxing is about money first, sport second. Mayweather’s insistence on a bigger share of the purse and the fight profits is the real obstacle preventing a bout between Floyd and Manny. Forget the drug testing and the other issues. So, if Pacquiao and Bradley draw a bigger than expected PPV audience, Top Rank will have more leverage in its negotiations with the Mayweather camp. If the PPV tanks, even with a Pacquiao win, Top Rank’s hand is weakened.
Casual fans know only a few big names in boxing, two of the few being Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. Timothy Bradley isn’t one of those names, not yet anyway. Mayweather had the benefit of fighting the number three PPV draw on May 5, Miguel Cotto.
Fans, mark your calendars and join us for a live fight chat online covering the action for you right here on Communities at Washington Times. We will start it off with the undercard fights at 9 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. Pacific Time, with the main event scheduled at approximately 11 p.m. Eastern, 8 p.m. Pacific. Don’t miss this one, or you’ll be sorry!
Does the Clark County Detention Center gets HBO pay-per-view? Just wondering.
Gayle Lynn Falkenthal, APR, is President/Owner of the Falcon Valley Group in San Diego, California. She is also a serious boxing fan covering the Sweet Science for Communities. Read more Media Migraine in the Communities at The Washington Times. Follow Gayle on Facebook and on Twitter @PRProSanDiego. Gayle can be reached via Google +
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