Pacquiao eyes wipeout vs. Bradley
Knockout or not, Manny Pacquiao vowed to give Timothy Bradley no room and bag all rounds in their rematch on April 12 in Las Vegas.
In a promotional blog released by fight broadcaster HBO, Pacquiao stressed he won their first bout two years ago, even though it was Bradley who came away with the decision victory.
This time, the Filipino icon is going for a rout to avoid a similar controversial result.
“I won at least 10 rounds against Tim Bradley the first time we fought. I intend to win all the rounds against him this time regardless of the length of the fight,” said Pacquiao, who won his last fight against Brandon Rios also in a one-sided manner.
The fighting congressman has grown tired of Bradley’s repeated claims that he has lost his once vaunted killer’s instinct, and earlier promised to go all out against the undefeated American in their rematch.
“He [Bradley] said I have lost my hunger and that my time is over. Everything I am doing in training camp is aimed at proving to him just how wrong he is,” added Pacquiao, who is currently training at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Los Angeles.
“I have all the respect for Bradley and what he has accomplished but I have no fear of him. He has inspired me to exceed my previous performances inside the ring,” he further said.
Bradley will be putting his WBO welterweight title on the line against Pacquiao, the same diadem he took from the Filipino in their first encounter. He is out to prove that his win over Pacquiao is no fluke.
Pacquiao, for his part, insisted he will revert to his old, aggressive self. He ended the blog by issuing a stern warning to his foe.
“If Bradley wants to meet the fighter who stopped Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera, he’s going to get his wish on April 12,” Pacquiao said.
Killer instict still intact Manny Pacquiao insists he is still capable of knocking his opponents out cold. It’s just that knockouts, according to the Filipino boxing icon, need to come at the opportune time.
In a promotional blog released by HBO to drum up Pacquiao’s rematch with Timothy Bradley, the fighting congressman said he has learned from his mistake against Juan Manuel Marquez in their last fight in December 2012.
Pacquiao battered Marquez in that bout and was on the verge of stopping him, but the Mexican tagged him with a perfectly timed counter shot right before the bell sounded to end the sixth round.
The General Santos City- based southpaw dropped face down and stayed motionless for a few scary minutes, and Marquez celebrated the win over his archrival, perhaps the biggest of his career.
It was that bout that taught Pacquiao not to rush things.
“The one thing I learned from my fight against Marquez was patience. When I had him teetering I became reckless and went in to finish him. I was careless and he landed the perfect punch. That was learning a lesson the hard way. But I learned it,” he explained.
Pacquiao rebounded with a win over Brandon Rios in November last year, and although he dominated the Mexican over 12 rounds, he failed to finish him off.
Pacquiao hasn’t stopped an opponent since his TKO win over Miguel Cotto in 2009, and this led some boxing observers – including Bradley – to conclude that Pacquiao’s killer instinct is gone. The Sarangani congressman disagrees. “I still have the killer instinct. I am not afraid to use my power and go for the knockout. But I will remember the lesson I learned from my last fight with Marquez. Knockouts need to come naturally, you should not force them,” he continued.
Freddie Roach wants his ward to stop Bradley on April 12, especially since fans love knockouts. Pacquiao, for his part, is willing to oblige.
“Freddie likes knockouts and I like to make Freddie happy,” he said.— Philstar.com