pacquiao-bradley3

By Bill Dwyre –

They held the Right Coast promotional scrum here Thursday for the upcoming Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao-Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley Jr. boxing match. Among the revelations that could stop the presses was that there are no villains in this fight.

Leo Durocher said that nice guys finish last. He never considered that they would fight each other.

This kind of warm and fuzzy stuff could ruin the sport. But, in this one, the skeletons in the closet have either been permanently locked up, or they never existed. It got so bad (good) Thursday that, after Pacquiao and Bradley did the usual contrived face-to-face pose for photographers — does anybody actually use this stuff? — they parted by shaking hands and smiling.

Mike Tyson, who once bit off a piece of an opponent’s ear, would be spinning in his grave, were he not still alive. Floyd Mayweather Jr., if he saw this, would go outside and take a baseball bat to a tree.

Where were the insults? Where was the name calling, the out-of-control testosterone, the phony tension contrived to sell tickets? Was this a boxing promotion or the groundbreaking for a convent? In the old days, before George Foreman found God and niceness, this sort of promotion would have driven him either to the heavy bag or the barf bag.

In truth, the best and fairest way to describe what will take place April 9 in Las Vegas is to trot out that terrible cliché of the day: It is what it is. These are two decent people who also happen to be great boxers.

Pacquiao is a congressman from the Philippines, who is universally known for his generosity. Said Top Rank Promotion’s chief executive, Bob Arum, “Most politicians take, take, take. Manny gives, gives, gives.”

Bradley is a once-beaten world champion described Thursday by Arum as, “a great person, who will keep fighting for his family and the people of this country.”

Of course, that is a promoter’s hyperbole. In this case, it also happens to be accurate. The only hope might be to hire Mayweather Jr. to come to a special press day and snarl some insults. Word is he isn’t busy.

Thursday’s event was at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. MSG as a venue symbolizes boxing, and Arum did not miss the chance to point that out. Tuesday’s opener in this two-stop tour event was held in Beverly Hills. The events were mostly the same. Same message. Same warm and fuzzy. Better food in Beverly Hills.

It is 11 weeks and one day until the fight. Including the ever-present good-guy versus good-guy theme, the storylines have been established and are unlikely to change much. That starts with the boxers.

Bradley: “I only have one date on my calendar, April 9.”

Pacquiao, steadfast in his retirement vow: “After this fight, if you want to see me, come to the Philippines. It is a nice place for a vacation.”

Among the discussion points to be dealt with in the next months are:

  • Was this fight a match-made-for-comfort exit for Pacquiao, or is Bradley different and improved now, and if so, will that bring the kind of competition that Pacquiao seeks so he can go out in the right way?
  • Is Pacquiao’s right shoulder, the surgically repaired rotator cuff injury that apparently cost him any chance to win against Mayweather last spring, completely healed?
  • Would a Bradley victory make him Top Rank’s new star, with Pacquiao exiting? Or would Pacquiao not exit if he loses?
  • If Bradley is the new Top Rank breadwinner, how will Arum get him to fight his buddy and fast-rising star, Terence “Bud” Crawford, whom Bradley says he will not fight? (Preliminary Arum answer: “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.”).
  • Will an impressive victory by Pacquiao coax Mayweather out of retirement for a shot at a cherished final 50-0 record?
  • Is that what Mayweather has been hoping for all along, so he can be the opening sports star at Las Vegas’ soon-to-be-ready T-Mobile Arena?
  • Is Bradley trainer Teddy Atlas deserving of the credit he is getting for Bradley’s impressive victory over Brandon Rios, or was Rios simply an out-of-shape, under-motivated cup cake for Bradley?
  • Can Arum use, to any degree of success, his boxing platform to influence some presidential votes? At every chance, the liberal-leaning Arum refers, tongue in cheek, to the preliminary matches for this fight as the ‘Donald Trump undercard,’ and says, since that undercard includes several Hispanics, his hope is that none will be deported by The Donald.
  • Has Arum cleverly taken the edge off other fights in the first quarter of the year by getting this promotion rolling so early and with such high visibility that the likes of Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin, if they get matches made, will be playing from behind?

This fight will be no morality play. You need a bad guy for that. But will the sporting public, which seems to gravitate toward NASCAR wrecks and people fighting barefoot in cages, embrace Little Orphan Annie versus Mother Teresa?

Here Thursday, Atlas gave that public the best reason to do so, relating nicely to our current hypnotic state over politics.

“These fighters,” he said, “have always lived up to their campaign promises.”

fightnews.com/Boxing/pacquiao-and-bradley-ready-to-deliver-on-their-campaign-promises-322000

spo2q

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (September 17, 2013) — It’s just 25 days until undefeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion TIMOTHY “Desert Storm” BRADLEY, JR. and four-division world champion and Méxican icon JUAN MANUEL “Dinamita” MÁRQUEZ, both coming off Fight of the Year performances, collide in a battle for Bradley’s world title. The only two fighters to have defeated Fighter of the Decade Manny Pacquiao in the past seven years, Bradley vs. Márquez will take place Saturday, October 12, at the Thomas & Mack Center, on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. It will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT.

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Zanfer Promotions, All Star Boxing,Wynn Las Vegas, Márquez Boxing, and Tecate, the Bradley vs. Márquez pay-per-view undercard is just as steeped in excitement and historical significance as the main event.

No. 1 contender ORLANDO CRUZ, boxing’s first openly gay fighter, will clash with former two-time featherweight champion ORLANDO “Siri” SALIDO for the vacant WBO featherweight title. For Cruz (20-2-1, 10 KOs), of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and a member of Puerto Rico’s 2000 Olympic team, this will be his first world title shot. Half of Cruz’s professional victories have been by knockout, including three of his last four fights — all for the WBO Latino featherweight belt — propelling him to the top of the WBO ratings. He enters this title tilt riding a two-year winning streak, highlighted by a first-round knockout of previously undefeated Michael Franco. Salido (39-12-2, 27 KOs), of Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, México, will be looking to complete a hat trick in regaining the title he previously held for nearly two years. He captured his first world title in his third attempt. After a No Decision to Robert Guerrero in 2006 and a split decision loss to Cristobal Cruz in 2008, Salido finally captured the International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight title in 2010, avenging his loss to Cruz by winning a split decision. His title reign was short-lived, losing a unification fight to World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa later that same year. Salido bounced back in a big way, stopping undefeated WBO featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez in the eighth round in 2011 to capture his second world championship crown. Salido enters this fight having won five of his last six fights by knockout, including title defenses against Kenichi Yamaguchi in 2011 and a rematch with Lopez in 2012. He lost the title in January, by decision, to Mikey Garcia. He is currently world-rated No. 3 by the WBO.

Two-time Ukrainian Olympic gold medalist VASYL “The Great” LOMACHENKO will jump into the deep end of boxing’s international-sized swimming pool when he makes his professional debut in a 10-round featherweight bout against top-10 contender JOSE LUIS RAMIREZ. Lomachenko first gained international renown by winning gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Games as a featherweight and lightweight, respectively. Known for his all-out aggressive style of boxing, Lomachenko is equally aggressive in plotting his professional boxing plan to a world title where he insisted on making his pro debut in a 10-round bout against a seasoned veteran where a victory could propel him to a Top-10 world rating. He certainly has that in Ramirez (24-2-2, 15 KOs), of Méxicali, Baja California,México, who has won six of his last seven fights. Ramirez enters this fight fresh from a career-best victory, a 12-round decision over Rey Bautista (34-2, 25 KOs), in April. for the WBO International featherweight title, ending the No. 4-rated contender’s four-year winning streak. Ramirez is currently word-rated No. 7 by the WBO.

Undefeated World Boxing Council (WBC) Americas light heavyweight champion “Irish” SEANIE MONAGHAN, one of the top boxing gate attractions in his native New York, will open up the live telecast in his pay-per-view debut. He captured the title on June 14, 2012, via an eighth-round TKO of Romaro Johnson and successfully defended it last October 24, winning a unanimous decision over Rayco Sanders. Known for his aggressive style and good punching power, especially to the body, Monaghan, 31, is currently world-rated No. 10 by the WBA. In last his fight, on April 13, he scored a first-round knockout of Dion Stanley on the undercard of the Nonito Donaire – Guillermo Rigondeaux world junior featherweight championship at Radio City Music Hall. Venturing outside the New York / New Jersey area for the first time, Monaghan (18-0, 11 KOs), of Long Beach, NY, will risk his title, undefeated record and top-10 rating against ANTHONY CAPUTO-SMITH. Smith (14-1, 10 KOs), of Kenneth Square, Pa., captured the Pennsylvania State light heavyweight title on April 19, winning a gritty majority decision over Dhafir Smith.

Remaining tickets to the Bradley vs. Márquez welterweight championship event, priced at $800, $600, $400, $300, $200, $100 and $50, can be purchased at the Thomas & Mack Center Box Office, online at UNLVtickets.com, at UNLVtickets Outlet Town Square Las Vegas Concierge, or by calling 702-739-FANS (3267).

http://www.thesweetscience.com/news/tss-press-releases/17242-just-25-days-til-marquez-bradley-bout