No Mayweather so It looks like Bradley and Pacman will
fight in June.
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Bradley
on Pacquiao fight: 'Waiting for this my whole life'
February
9, 2012 | 4:27 pm
Timothy
Bradley agreed in principle Thursday to fight
Manny Pacquiao on June 9 at MGM Grand in Las
Vegas, fulfilling a lifetime ambition for the unbeaten,
Cathedral City-based world junior welterweight champion.
"This is
about being the No. 1 fighter in the world, and that's what
my goal has been for as long as I can remember," Bradley
said. "I've been waiting for this my whole life."
Bradley declined to reveal terms of his agreement, which he
said could be signed as early as Friday, but fight promoter
Bob Arum said there was no reason to doubt that Bradley
will have around the same $5-million guarantee that
Pacquiao's most recent two opponents had.
Bradley (28-0, 12 knockouts) kept his eyes on this prize
through a contentious 2011, when he split with
promoters Gary Shaw and Ken Thompson and turned down a
likely $1.5-million payday last June against England's Amir
Khan to instead pursue a chance at a more lucrative date
against Pacquiao.
When another round of talks failed to generate a
super-fight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather
Jr. -- who's scheduled to fight Miguel Cotto May 5 --
the 28-year-old Bradley emerged as the front-runner for
Pacquiao.
The pay-per-view fight will be at the welterweight
limit of 147 pounds, where Bradley last fought in
2010.
"It's
been a long time coming," said Bradley, who returned from a
10-month absence in November to defeat veteran Joel
Casamayor by eighth-round technical knockout on the
Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez undercard. "This is like
going to England again, to win a world title."
In 2008, Bradley defeated England's Junior Witter on
Witter's home turf to capture his first belt, and has
defeated the likes of Lamont Peterson and Devon Alexander
since.
(Peterson made news Thursday by shifting away from talks to
fight Marquez at Cowboys Stadium, and agreeing to
fight Khan on May 19 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.)
Bradley, meanwhile, has to figure out how to defeat
Pacquiao (54-3-2), who hasn't lost since 2005 but turned in
perhaps his worst performance since then by edging Marquez
by decision.
"He can be beat," Bradley said of Pacquiao. "I just need to
get in there and follow my game plan. I know his
weaknesses, his favorite combinations. In my mind, I'm
definitely going to win. I'll take it to this guy."
Bradley manager Cameron Dunkin said in December that the
Marquez bout exposed Pacquiao as a tiring, less sharp
version. When asked if he was just blowing smoke
or he'd bet $1,000 Bradley could beat Pacquiao, Dunkin
quickly extended his hand to finalize the wager.
"It wasn't so much that Marquez exposed Pacquiao, as much
as he is not as spectacular," Bradley said. "It's harder
for Pacquiao to land his shots now, and you even saw that
in the [May 2011] Shane Mosley fight. Look, Marquez had
Pacquiao's number, and Marquez is 38 and past his prime.
"Here they were making excuses after [Pacquiao conditioning
coach Alex] Ariza had said before Marquez that even God
himself couldn't beat Pacquiao.
"I'm younger, stronger and faster than Marquez."
Bradley said he intends to be prepared either to box or
fight inside with Pacquiao, dismissing criticism he's a
dirty fighter who favors his head and elbows.
"This will be no walk in the park for Manny Pacquiao,"
Bradley said.