Pacquiao vs Bradley 3?

Bradley's new trainer starts preparing for Pacquiao

Image source theGuardian

The new trainer of WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley Jr. has already started preparing for his upcoming title defense against Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao on April 9.

The trilogy bout between Bradley and Pacquiao will mark just the second time that Teddy Atlas will be in the American's corner, but he is well aware of the history between the two fighters.




"I already looked at (the first two fights)," Atlas told ESPN Deportes, as quoted by Boxing Scene, in a recent interview. "I don't believe in waiting."

Atlas revealed that he had begun to study tapes of the previous two fights even before Bradley was officially named as Pacquiao's opponent. "Desert Storm" had controversially beaten Pacquiao when they first fought in 2012, although the "Pacman" avenged that defeat in their 2014 rematch.


"When this fight was first discussed, I looked at it and I see what I should see, and I see why Pacquiao was able to be effective and why Tim was able to be effective at the times when he was effective," he explained.

Of course, it will be a different Pacquiao who will face Bradley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in April. The Filipino icon is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last May 2015, in a fight that saw him aggravate a shoulder injury that would later require surgery.

Yet Atlas remains wary of what Pacquiao can do inside the ring, and calls the Filipino "one of the best fighters of the last decade."




"It'll be a tough challenge, but we'll make sure we're ready," Atlas said. "We will respect the challenge that Pacquiao represents. We will do what we're supposed to do, and be 100% prepared."

"It will be a difficult fight."

Atlas' presence in Bradley's corner is Top Rank chief executive Bob Arum's primary selling point for the fight, as he believes the trainer has made a great difference for the American boxer.

"We haven't seen this fight already, because this is a new Tim Bradley," Arum said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

"I don't know that Manny has to prove anything, other than he's better than the current Bradley and his new coach," he added. "The Bradley who beat (Brandon) Rios was better than the Bradley I've seen of the last five years."

"Can that Bradley beat Manny Pacquiao? I don't know, but I think it's a close fight, and he (Pacquiao) is still coming off an injury."

Bradley split with longtime trainer Joel Diaz and hired Atlas – a former trainer of Mike Tyson – in September. With Atlas in his corner, Bradley stopped Rios in the ninth round of their welterweight fight last November in Las Vegas.

Arum may have been impressed with Bradley's performance, but Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, expected nothing less from the American boxer, especially considering who he was up against.

"Bradley looked good, but with all that fat on Rios, I had never seen him look like that before, so I don't think Bradley had that much in front of him," Roach said in a separate LA Times report.

"Bradley did what he had to do," he shrugged. "Teddy Atlas is a good motivator, and Bradley fought a good fight."

"I don't think you can give Atlas credit yet."

source ABS-CBN News