Bradley won’t last distance– Peñalosa

AP file photo

HOLLYWOOD— When he first saw Manny Pacquiao in training in General Santos City last month, former two-division world champion Gerry Peñalosa predicted that his close friend would beat Timothy Bradley by unanimous decision.

Two weeks ago, though, when he watched Pacquiao spar at the Wild Card Gym here after a bout with the flu, Peñalosa changed tack.

He felt that the Fighter of the Decade was far from his best form and could be in for a tougher fight than expected.

Barely two days later, Peñalosa was relieved to see Pacquiao in his elements again, bombarding his sparring partners with combinations.

After the six-round sparring sessions Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) and Friday, Peñalosa changed his prognosis of how Pacquiao’s grudge rematch with Bradley for the World Boxing Organization welterweight crown on April 12 (April 13 in Manila) at MGM Grand in Arena would end.

“If what he showed in sparring will come out on fight night, then Bradley won’t last the distance,” Peñalosa told Filipino sportswriters at the lobby of Vine Inn and Suites here.

“They (the sparring) were really beautiful to watch,” said Peñalosa. “He can’t be nailed.”

According to Peñalosa, a fixture in Pacquiao’s fights in the United States, his friend’s two-round performances against former world champion Steve Forbes, unbeaten Lydell Rhodes and top prospect Julian Rodriguez, were reminiscent of the way he made Oscar De La Hoya quit after eight rounds in 2008.

Peñalosa, hailed by Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach as the most technical Filipino fighter of his generation, credited the improvement to Pacquiao’s intense and diligent training.

“You can see it in the volume of punches he throws per round,” said Peñalosa, who’s now into boxing promotion. “They’re in the hundreds.”

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