Tim “Overly Ripped” Bradley
SATURDAY NIGHT HBO PPV
San Francisco, CA– Tim Bradley is not the second coming of “Sugar Ray” Leonard. Nor is he some popped up cardboard cutout that will stand in front of Pacquiao so that Manny can wail on him. After watching his highlights of his beating Devon Alexander at 140, I also think the eight pounds Bradley has put on and fighting at 147 will be to the challenger’s advantage.
HE HAS NEVER LOST & ALWAYS COMES!
Look, in every fight he has been in of note, Bradley fights 100 %, and he’ll try and throw everything he has in a fight where he might throw 70 punches in the opener. Some guys don’t. They don’t fight real hard from the start, Manny banks a couple of rounds and before you know it the opponent is two rounds down, this before Manny starts hurting his opponents, mainly with punches to the head.
PAC CAN BE LITTLE “JAWS” AT TIMES
Soon after hurting his foes, if Manny smalls blood and if can get it in the water, his shark-like attack will be lethal for Bradley. But I’m leaning that way this morning as I’ll write a case of how the unbeaten (28-0, 12 KOs) and ring smart Bradley can win later this week, tomorrow I’ll pen the piece on Pacquiao winning because I could see both sides here.
ARUM DOING WHAT HE CAN!
Promoter Bob Arum’s job, his goal is to make a bunch of money on this fight. I’m thinking it will do between 350 and 500,000 Pay Per View buys, and well it’s not the usual Pacquiao numbers nor is it the Floyd Mayweather-Miguel Cotto, Saul Alvarez-Shane Mosley PPV that got 1.5 homes beating Manny by 150,000 buys or so when compared with he and Juan Manuel Marquez III and what they got last November. For the record, Pac is getting $6 million, Bradley $5 million, this before any Pay Per View numbers.
PACQUIAO LOOKING AT DWINDLING FOLLOWING
With Manny’s fan base, albeit dwindling in some regards as to people think that they’ve seen the Pacquiao train leaving the track and it ain’t coming back. Tim Bradley feels he can box Manny Pacquiao, beat him into submission or TKO in some manner. What Bradley has been promising us for a long time will be the key early as Pacquiao is just too small and less slick than Bradley. For years I mentioned every now and then how I was of the opinion that Manny was ducking “Slick Black American” boxers.
YOU DIDN’T JUST SAY THAT
Well, actually I did. And before you pull your hair out, if you can figure out what I’m talking about as the Afro-American has height, reach, speed, natural size. His only detriment to the naked eye as his 12 KOs in 28 fights. That and the fact that he is signed with Promoter Bob Arum, one of few men I can illustrate to you is in a “win-win” position. If Pac wins, he may gain enough leverage for a fight in November or February with Floyd Mayweather who is currently incarcerated in the Clark County Jail over a 2011 domestic dispute with the never-married mother of their three children.
BRADLEY BEING BY “SMART GUYS”
HBO’s Larry Merchant once told me, “No matter the odds, 2-1 or 5-1 if the favorite wins, far more often he does what he was expected to.” That being said, got word today from a guy that has a lot of bucks, but he is real careful on his bets and he “threw down” at around 5-1.
REASON FOR BET IS 5-1 ODDS & PAC LOSING STEP
This non-Californian, and that’s the only hint I’ll give you as who this person is, said that they notice Pacquiao’s (53-2-2, 38 KOS) punches are a bit slower, lack a little less pop, and he is not the monster he was against anorexic Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, the weight drained Miguel Cotto.
LAST THREE FIGHTS NOT SPECTACULAR
He proved that his last three outings against Antonio Margarito, Shane Mosley and last November Juan Manuel Marquez if he didn’t officially, JMM had Pacquiao’s number.
BRADLEY FIGHTS TALLER WITH LONGER REACH!
The theory being applied if you think that Tim is going to win is that he has to keep off the ropes and keep the fight in the center of the ring. That he would jab at a lunging Pacquiao and sustain such control until the later rounds and go for the kill. Listed a 1/2 inch smaller than Pacquiao, Bradley’s thing, his best attribute is being a seasoned African American fighter. Tim could utilize a semi-perfectly thrown jab, which would keep Pacquiao from getting within punching range to land bombs.
THE BOXER VS THE PUNCHER
The jab will eventually set Pacquiao up for punches in bunches. If that becomes the case, I can see Bradley bust Manny up and halt him within the 36-scheduled minutes of fighting (12 x 3 minute round).
COULD SEE THINGS ALL BRADLEY?
On paper is this Bradley’s fight to lose? He’s got a declining Pacquiao looking for resurrection who’s a bit slower pulling the trigger and his power has diminished somewhat. If all of the aforementioned scenarios come to fruition, and you combine that with youth and too many miles on the Manila bus, the bus suffers a blown engine and Bradley ends the Pacquiao mystique.
THE WAY PACQUIAO WILL WIN @ RINGTALK.COM WEDNESDAY
Late tomorrow for early Wednesday, I’ll paint the picture of how Manny Pacquiao beats Tim Bradley like a drum!
Pedro Fernandez