Bradley ready for Pacquiao’s last bullet
(LAST BULLET: Those who have been fighting hard and barking for a Rody Duterte presidency have obviously found a fitting theme for their determined cry: Duterte is the last chance. In this country wracked by rampant criminality, corruption and the deathly drug menace, Duterte is the Last Bullet which cannot afford to miss or misfire. In an obscure street corner that serves as garage and repair shop for at least a dozen run-down passenger jeepneys in Barangay Vergara, Mandaluyong City, the clamor for a Duterte presidency became more desperate among poor and tired daily wager earners late Tuesday, the day it was announced the tough, courageous Mayor of Davao City has soared to the top in the latest poll survey. All the way, kapit bisig, walang atrasan.)
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THE WAY Tim Bradley claims it, he has been reshaped into the finest boxer he has ever dreamed to be.
“Everything is tight,” Bradley remarked, bowing in the direction of his new trainer, the credentialed and respected Teddy Atlas.
Bradley did not have to be told. He knows deep within that Manny Pacquiao, whom he fights for the third time on April 9, will come for what could easily be believed the Filipino boxing superhero’s last hurrah.
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Anyway, while there had been earlier hints from no less than trainer Freddie Roach that Pacquiao has slowed down, Atlas was quick to explain that they expect the same explosive and dangerous Pacquiao to show up for his third encounter against Bradley.
“There has been no sign of deterioration or dissipation whatsoever,” Atlas said.
In fact, latest info from the Wild Card Gym in California says Pacquiao’s repaired right arm has become doubly powerful, swift and and, maybe, vicious as a bullet.
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Should this be taken to mean Pacquiao would be at his greatest form ever come April 9?
Bradley himself would not hazard a guess.
But, contrary to what Freddie Roach continued to assert, Bradley claimed he has improved splendidly.
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“We’ve become more cerebral, more of a thinking fighter,” Bradley told Robert Morales of the Long Beach Press-Telegram.
To illustrate, Bradley said he’s no longer the boxer who just steps in there to fight.
Robert Morales, who was allowed a rare peek into the reclusive Bradley camp, said the Atlas-Bradley chemistry has been very good.
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Roach, for his part, continued to claim there’s no way Atlas could turn Bradley into a better fighter.
Wrote Morales: “Atlas, contrary to popular belief, is not changing Bradley’s style. He’s refining his fundamentals, such as throwing punches from correct angles, also pulling out in time before being whacked with a counter.”
No more standing in front of the foe too long, no more wild punches.
Morales claimed the Bradley-Atlas link-up has become sincere and perfect, it could also be scary
Well said. But it’s quite doubtful Roach would ever believe all that.
