MANILA, Philippines — At 33, Manny Pacquiao is already an “old man,” according to his June 9 adversary Timothy Bradley.
“It’s new blood against old blood,” Bradley told The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Gay Sunday. “I’m in my prime, man.”
At 28, Bradley is arguably at the top of his game.
The World Boxing Organization light welterweight (140 lb) champion is unbeaten
in 29 fights, proving his mettle against aging warrior Joel Casamayor and erstwhile unbeaten Devon Alexander, Luis Carlos Abregu and Lamont Peterson.
While his power is suspect with only 12 knockouts to show in 28 wins, Bradley promised to stop Pacquiao, the WBO welterweight king, in earlier interviews.
Bradley believes his vegetarian diet during training for the showdown at MGM Grand in Las Vegas will be a key factor in upending Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KOs) and stunning the bookies who have listed him a 1-3 underdog.
A $340 bet on Pacquiao will earn only $100 while a $100 bet on Bradley will pay $280.
Though he’s an acknowledged “meat and potatoes guy”—he easily balloons to 160 to 165 lb—Bradley transforms himself before starting training camp, fasting for five days first to rid his body of impurities before switching to the vegetarian diet.
Meanwhile, opening-day ticket sales of Pacquiao-Bradley reportedly went well Friday, with only 3,000 tickets still up for grabs.