Pacquiao-Bradley: Brewing an old storm

It no longer comes as a surprise that the boxing world is now divided on how Manny Pacquiao would figure out against unbeaten (31-0) Californian Tim Bradley at MGM Grand Las Vegas next month.

The reverend Larry Merchant sees a toss-up, veteran referee Joe Cortez gives it to Bradley by unanimous decision, ageless ringside guru Harold Lederman predicts a clear Pacquiao win.

The difference is being caused by the division over what version of the eight-division Filipino world boxing champion would show up for the April 12 rematch.

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Trainer Freddie Roach has rejected a duplicate of the old Pacquiao that faded in the second half, thus giving dishonest judges a chance to rob him of a clear win against Bradley in June 2012.

Roach has been drumming up hard for a sensational knockout way ahead of Pacquiao’s training start at his General Santos City camp.

The way Roach puts  it, Pacquiao will have to unleash “the old beast” in him to put all doubts to rest and, at the same time, reclaim full superstardom.

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Truth is Bradley, who had called Pacquiao a beast in their first encounter, has been alleging, albeit wildly, that the fearless ferocity in Pacquiao has long been in slumber.

Plainly put, Bradley insisted Pacquiao “has lost his original killer instinct.”

Main reason behind this downplay was the soft, compassionate finish Pacquiao displayed against the outclassed Brandon Rios in Macau last November.

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It won’t get confirmed formally until fight night, but it’s hard to deny, as the rematch draws near, that the sleeping beast has been  roused.

It’s alive and raging, that’s if we are to take the words of Pacquiao’s camp handlers and his badly bruised American sparmate.

Pacquiao  himself would neither bare nor say a word on the status of that dreaded power in his fabulous fists.

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Better conditioning, not brute strength, could prove the key factor for the eventual winner.

Roach has been quoted as saying Pacquiao, whom he expects to be 100 percent on fight night, is something like 60 percent a little over a month before the rematch.

As for Bradley, it’s easy to believe his claim he’s way ahead in the conditioning race, having pitched camp much earlier than Pacquiao.

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There are also endorsements that Bradley, based on victories over Ruslan Provodnikov and Juan Manuel Marquez, has improved vastly since being awarded that controversial win over Pacquiao.

Looking back, Bradley, badly bruised, did eke out a shaky split win over Provodnikov,  before nipping a visibly faded, fast-tiring Marquez to remain unbeaten en route to the rematch vs Pacquiao.

All told, it would indeed be a thrill and pleasure to see how an improved push-puncher in Bradley would stand up to a certified warrior that displayed defensive maturity last time and has vowed to rage again like the old Pacific Storm.