Can Pacquiao really go atomic?

AP

(LAST JOURNEY HOME: A fatherless barefoot boy, son of a simple barrio storekeeper who toiled alone long and hard to become a supremely successful entrepreneur, takes a final journey home today. Former Ambassador Antonio Cabangon Chua will be buried close to his mother, the well-loved Aling Inga in the old village of Namayan, at San Felipe Neri Catholic Cemetery in Mandaluyong City this afternoon. Prayers please for this legendary benefactor, a hero who will be truly missed in his hometown as well as in many other localities that have benefited from his smiling brand of soulful generosity. Farewell! There’ll never be another one like you, Kuya Tony.)

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THE TWO basketballs Manny Pacquiao was seen dribbling simultaneously around the Griffith Park at the start of the week hardly resembled harmful weapons. Pacquiao, in blue Nike sneakers and matching light jacket, was himself a picture of serenity.

He harbored no menace. There was none of the potential bomb-thrower in him whatsoever.

Days before Pacquiao’s departure for the final phase of training against Timothy Bradley, trainer Freddie Roach overdid himself in baring how fiercely his prized ward would go for a win come April 9 in Las Vegas.

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Roach said Pacquiao would be doubly sharp, super, and could even go atomic.

Roach was reacting to a claim by trainer Teddy Atlas on how Bradley had to go through hell in his slugout with Brandon Rios in November.

Roach did not like what Atlas had to claim that “they were firemen living in the heat” in the fight against Rios which was won by Bradley by knockout.

Roach, sounding mean and urgent, was a little exaggerated:

“Playing firemen isn’t going to protect them from the nuclear assault Manny will be launching,” Roach told Dan Rafael, the famous ESPN senior writer.

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OK, Roach could just be trying to needle Atlas, credited by Bradley as his secret weapon.

But there’s also reason to believe Roach would push Pacquiao beyond his limit in the third encounter against Bradley.

You see, it’s hard to determine what exactly Roach meant by Pacquiao launching a nuclear assault. Or how he hopes to execute the plot.

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Truth is that when Roach once bragged that Pacquiao would deliver what he called “Manila Ice” in one early big bout, the ploy suffered a hilarious meltdown, although Pacquiao still managed to score a so-so points win.

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All told, it has become clear Roach would not be pleased with anything less than a resounding stoppage over Bradley, whom Pacquiao had failed to deck in two previous fights.

Meanwhile, the way the opposing camp has trained long and plotted secretly, Bradley should also be ready to explode something new and super.

No wonder, the trilogy, which at first looked unpromising, has suddenly appeared the hottest spring gladiatoral offering in the Nevada Desert.

Yes, the boxing public will be out to see if Pacquiao has really recaptured the magical bombs he last used with succcess against Miguel Cotto in 2009 yet.

Or is it also too late in the day?