Promoter Bob Arum: Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley II coming at right time

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Robert Morales

Promoter Bob Arum is staging the April 12 rematch between Timothy Bradley and Manny Pacquiao at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (on HBO pay-per-view). Their first fight – in June 2012 at the same place – ended in controversy when Bradley was judged a split-decision winner over Pacquiao in a fight Pacquiao appeared to have won by as many as four points.

Arum recently was asked if this rematch coming later rather than sooner was a good thing. Both fighters have had two fights since that first go-round.

“Because of the controversy in the first fight, if we had done an immediate rematch I think most of the time being spent by the media would have been on ‘Was the first fight fixed?’ therefore getting a second fight, and now you don’t hear any of that because obviously the fighters went on to do their thing against other opponents. Now we have a great fight and there is no adverse commentary as to any kind of manipulation in the first fight.”

Pacquiao, 35, is 55-5-2 with 38 knockouts. Bradley, 30, is 31-0 with 12 knockouts.

Freddie Roach vows Manny Pacquiao will leave no doubt in Timothy Bradley rematch

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Robert Morales

Freddie Roach, like just about everyone else, thought Manny Pacquiao defeated Timothy Bradley in their June 2012 welterweight title fight at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. But Bradley was judged the split-decision winner.

Not surprisingly, C.J. Ross was one of two judges who gave the fight to Bradley by a 115-113 count; Duane Ford was the other. (You might remember that Ross was the judge who had the September 2013 fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez a draw; that says it all.)

Pacquiao is currently at Roach’s Wild Card gym in Hollywood, where Roach is preparing him for the April 12 rematch with Bradley at MGM Grand (on HBO pay-per-view). Roach remains peeved about the scoring in the first fight, to be sure. He vows to make sure Pacquiao leaves no doubt this time.

“We are training for big game in this fight,” Roach said Tuesday. “Manny knows he is going to have to hunt Bradley down and close the show this time. The first fight with Bradley was so easy for Manny that after six rounds he just took it easy on him. Not this time. Our mantra is ‘Close the show. No mercy.’ You don’t have to be a groundhog to know that Bradley’s days as welterweight champ are numbered. It’s last call for Bradley on April 12.

Bradley, of Palm Springs, is 31-0 with 12 knockouts. Pacquiao, of the Philippines, is 55-5-2 with 38 knockouts.

Timothy Bradley picks Manny Pacquiao to KO Brandon Rios on Saturday

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Robert Morales

Timothy Bradley was on a conference call last week with several boxing legends, such as Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, George Foreman and Marco Antonio Barrera. All were discussing Saturday’s fight between Manny Pacquiao and Brandon Rios in Macao, China (on HBO pay-per-view).

Like Barrera, Bradley knows Pacquaio more than most in this regard because he fought Pacquiao in June 2012 in Las Vegas. Bradley won a split-decision, though most experts thought Pacquaio was the winner. Either way, Bradley is a student of the game and he believes he knows what Rios – the underdog – needs to focus on to have a chance at victory.

“First of all, he should expect to see Manny Pacquiao being very quick and very elusive and lots of feints in this fight,” Bradley said. “Manny Pacquiao dropped a lot of feints on me and it kept me off-balance as far as shots. He’s very difficult to hit at times, too, because he is always angling out. He’s coming in, he’s coming out, he’s angling out to the right or to the left. That’s what Brandon Rios should expect.”

In other words, Bradley said, Rios should not think that Pacquiao is just going to come straight at him.

“He is going to have to expect a lot of angles in this fight,” Bradley said. “Rios, if he is going to have a chance to beat Pacquiao, he is going to have to close the distance. He is going to have to get close, stay close and punch.”

All that said, Bradley is picking Pacquiao to emerge victorious.

“I’ve got Manny Pacquiao by a mid- to late-round KO,” he said. “Eight rounds.”

Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KOs), of the Philippines, is fighting for the first time since being knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez in the sixth round last December in Las Vegas. Rios, the former lightweight champion from Oxnard, is 31-1-1 with 23 knockouts.

Timothy Bradley retains title with a split-decision over Juan Manuel Marquez

Posted on October 13, 2013 by Robert Morales

Timothy Bradley vowed to box more against Juan Manuel Marquez than he did against Ruslan Provodnikov in March, when Bradley defeated Provodnikov via narrow decision but sustained a concussion and was decked in the process.

Bradley kept his word and it was likely the biggest reason why he defeated Marquez via split-decision Saturday before 13,111 at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Judges Robert Hoyle and Patricia Morse Jarman had Bradley winning by respective scores of 115-113 and 116-112, while Glenn Feldman had Marquez winning 115-113.

Bradley (31-0) made the second successful defense of his title.

Marquez (55-7-1), of Mexico, bemoaned the decision in the post-fight news conference.

“We came prepared to give a good fight,” he said. “I think the people saw a good performance. But unfortunately, the judges did it again.”

Marquez said that is his mind, it was the sixth time he’s been robbed of a victory. Of his seven losses, five have come in Las Vegas.

“I am more scared of the judges than the opponents,” Marquez said.

Bradley, of Palm Springs, was booed several times by the pro-Marquez crowd for moving around a lot, using those boxing skills. He defended his strategy.

“I like to step in there and fight,” he said, “but I had to listen to my corner to get this win because Marquez is a big puncher.”

Check out the results for fights underneath Timothy Bradley-Juan Manuel Marquez

Posted on October 12, 2013 by Robert Morales

Several fights have already taken place Saturday night at Thomas & Mack Center, where Timothy Bradley will defend his welterweight title against Juan Manuel Marquez (on HBO pay-per-view).

Brad Solomon of Lafayette, La., is now 21-0 after winning an eight-round unanimous decision over Kenny Abril (14-7-1) of Rochester, N.Y., in the welterweight division.

Light heavyweight Trevor McCumby (13-0) of Chicago won a six-round unanimous decision over Eric Watkins (10-5-1) of Morgantown, West Virginia.

Also, Mikael Zewski (21-0, 16 KOs) of Canada stopped Albert Herrera (9-10-1) in the fifth round of their welterweight bout that was scheduled for eight rounds. The bout was halted at the request of Herrera’s corner.

Also, Jun Doliguez of the Philippines is now 17-0-1 with 13 knockouts after knocking out Geovanny Caro (23-14-4) of Mexico at 2:59 of the sixth round of their featherweight bout slated for six rounds.

Timothy Bradley, Juan Manuel Marquez make weight for Saturday’s title fight

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Robert Morales

Welterweight champion Timothy Bradley of Palm Springs and challenger Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico on Friday both made weight for their title fight Saturday at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas (on HBO pay-per-view).

Bradley came in at 146 pounds, one pound under the welterweight limit. Marquez tipped the scales at 144 1/2.

Bradley, 30, is 30-0 with 12 knockouts. Marquez, 40, is 55-6-1 with 40 knockouts.

Timothy Bradley-Juan Manuel Marquez weigh-in to be shown live Friday on HBO

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Robert Morales

Friday’s weigh-in for the Timothy Bradley-Juan Manuel Marquez welterweight title fight Saturday at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas will be televised live on HBO-East at 3 p.m. (6 p.m. delayed on regular HBO).

Bradley, 30, will be attempting to make the second successful defense of his belt. He is 30-0 with 12 knockouts. Marquez, 40, is 55-6-1 with 40 knockouts.

The fight will be televised by HBO pay-per-view.

Timothy Bradley, Juan Manuel Marquez arrivals in Las Vegas open to public

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Robert Morales

Welterweight champion Timothy Bradley of Palm Springs and Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico will make their Las Vegas arrivals Tuesday at the south valet entrance of Wynn Las Vegas.

Bradley is scheduled to come through at 12:30 with Marquez arriving at 1. The event will be open to the public.

Bradley (30-0, 12 KOs) will defend his belt against Marquez (55-6-1, 40 KOs) on Saturday at Thomas & Mack Center (on HBO pay-per-view).

Timothy Bradley not worried about scoring for fight with Juan Manuel Marquez

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Robert Morales

With the recent scoring controversy in Las Vegas on Sept. 14 as well as one this past Saturday in Carson, it wasn’t surprising to hear a reporter ask Timothy Bradley during a conference call if he is concerned about getting a fair shake from the judges when he defends his welterweight title against Juan Manuel Marquez on Oct. 12 at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Apparently, he’s not.

“Man, I am going to whoop his (butt) and the judges are going to give me the fight,” Bradley said. “Just like the U.S. Government, I am going to shut down Juan Manuel Marquez on Oct. 12. I am going to win the fight – that is the bottom line.

“I’m not concerned about any judges or any ref. I am going to get in there and do my job and beat Marquez. And that’s it. And the world’s going to see it.”

On Sept. 14, C.J. Ross scored the junior middleweight title fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez at MGM Grand a 114-114 draw. Alvarez appeared to have won no more than one round. Fortunately, Mayweather still won a majority decision.

Last Saturday at StubHub Center, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. was scored a unanimous-decision winner over Bryan Vera. Most ringside observers had Vera winning a close fight. A few had it even, this newspaper had Chavez winning 96-94. The scorecard of Carla Caiz was 96-94 for Chavez, which at least seemed reasonable. The outcry really came over the cards of Marty Denkin and Gwen Adair, who had Chavez winning by respective scores of 97-93 and 98-92. Adair’s card, in particular, seemed well off the mark.

The judges for Bradley-Marquez will be Robert Hoyle, Patricia Morse Jarman and Glenn Feldman. The referee will be Robert Byrd. The fight will be available on HBO pay-per-view.

Second episode of HBO’s 24/7: Bradley/Marquez on tap Saturday night

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Robert Morales

The second episode of HBO’s 24/7: Bradley/Marquez will be televised Saturday night following the junior middleweight fight between Miguel Cotto and Delvin Rodriguez and heavyweight title fight between Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin.

Timothy Bradley (30-0, 12 KOs) will defend his welterweight belt against Juan Manuel Marquez (55-6-1, 40 KOs) a week from Saturday, on Oct. 12, at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas (on HBO pay-per-view).

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