Pacquiao off to LA for Bradley promo tour

MANNY Pacquiao knows that selling Timothy Bradley as a worthy adversary for the third time won’t be easy.

That’s why the eight-division world champion is leaving for Los Angeles tonight to begin a whirlwind tour intended to boost interest for his showdown with Bradley for the World Boxing Organization welterweight crown set April 9 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao, also acknowledged as Fighter of the Decade, will head to The Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunset Boulevard where a press conference is scheduled at the Crystal Ballroom tomorrow. He will be joined by Bradley and their trainers, Freddie Roach and Teddy Atlas, respectively.

Promoter Bob Arum, who steers the protagonists’ ring careers, will also be around to preside over the event expected to lure sportswriters, fans and the international media.

Team Pacquiao and Team Bradley will fly to New York City on Jan. 20 for the second press conference the following day at Madison Square Garden.

Harboring no illusion that Pacquiao-Bradley III will be anywhere near Pacquiao’s collision with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in magnitude last year, Arum said he merely wants to match the gate receipts and pay per view sales of his prized wards’ earlier bouts, which means a sellout crowd and at least 850,000 PPV buys.

Though the Sarangani representative had announced that it will be his last fight if he gets elected as senator, Arum remains hopeful that Pacquiao will fight one more time to finish his contract with Top Rank next year.