‘Desert Storm’ faces tremor in Pacman

SACRAMENTO, California—Timothy Bradley’s trash talk about Manny Pacquiao is coming back to haunt him.

For his nonstop claim that Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KOs)  has lost his killer instinct, the unbeaten Bradley now expects a tremor-like force from the fighting congressman for their rematch at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas April 12 (April 13 in Manila).

Quoted by ABS-CBN News North America bureau, Bradley said Pacquiao “…has been training hard and I heard through the grapevine he has been looking sharp and that’s his job. He needs to be at his very best.”

But Bradley, aka “Desert Storm” who was awarded a controversial decision over Pacquiao on June 9, 2012, is not letting his guard down.

Bradley (31-0, 12 knockouts) said that since Pacquiao is ticked off, he himself has trained long and hard for what is expected to be a furious fight, according to published reports.

It was business as usual for the Pacman this week after an earthquake of 5.1 magnitude rattled the Los Angeles area last Friday night.

The temblor frayed nerves across the Southland but no major damage and injuries were reported. Aftershocks continue to cause anxiety even today.

Trailed by his entourage of trainers and hangers-on, Pacquiao jogged up and down the hills of Griffith Park Monday morning, reported Inquirer Mindanao’s Aquiles Zonio. The correspondent was around for the champ’s morning run.

Zonio arrived in LA to visit his sister a few days before the earthquake hit. The real intensity, says Zonio, occurs at Pacquiao’s training camp at the Wild Card Gym of Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach.

The PDI man in General Santos has been allowed entry to the Hollywood gym to observe Pacquiao’s routine and the celebrities who pay him a visit. The latest to drop by was “Extra” host Mario Lopez.

Pacquiao has resumed training at Wild Card where last Saturday he floored super featherweight Roger “Speedy” Gonzalez.

Gonzalez (28-6 18 KOs) who has faced tough opponents like former world featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa, was tapped for 12 rounds of sparring because of his speed. But Gonzalez proved no match to Pacquiao during furious exchanges.

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Someone finally dared cross Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija Mayor Amado Jhong Corpuz and that gutsy move has resulted in the mayor being sentenced to two four-year jail terms by the Sandiganbayan.

Corpuz has appealed the verdict against him for falsification of public documents.

“Unfortunately, appeals take forever,” said a Manila lawyer, also a native of Cuyapo, my hometown. “By the time his appeal is resolved, Jhong will have finished his current tenure.”

Corpuz has won as mayor five times, interrupted only by the mayoral stint of his wife, through his now dubious 11th-hour alliance with the local Iglesia Ni Cristo.

Cuyapo is supposedly a first-class municipality, but the electric and water service suck and the infrastructure, including roads, are crumbling.

The most hellish of the roads is the vital farm-to-market Nampicuan-Bentigan stretch long neglected by Corpuz and Nueva Ecija Gov. Aurelio “Oyie” Umali.