WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn (17-0-1, 11 KOs) was not happy with the way Teddy Atlas spoke to him, during their post-fight interview.

Horn is the new owner of the WBO championship after a controversial points victory against Pacquiao on Sunday in a brutal slugfest at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia.

The unanimous decision in favour of the 29-year-old has prompted a storm of debate over the scorecards, with a host of prominent US celebrities, broadcasters and sports stars weighing in, and some even suggesting the outcome was rigged.

Judges Waleksa Roldan (117-111), Chris Flores (115-113) and Ramon Cerdan (115-113) adjudicated the fight. Roldan and Flores are from the United States and Cerdan is from Argentina, yet there have been accusations it was a hometown decision.

According to CompuBox statistics, Horn landed just 92 punches to Pacquaio’s 182, but some rounds were tight and difficult to score.

Atlas, a veteran trainer and longtime boxing analyst, was working ringside as part of ESPN’s broadcast team.

When the decision was announced, Atlas was furious and expressed his anger to millions of viewers who were catching ESPN’s coverage.

“They gave a trophy, a win, a huge win to Horn, the local kid for trying hard,” Atlas moaned. “You’re not supposed to get it for trying hard, you’re supposed to get it for winning!”

Then, in a post-fight interview at ringside, Atlas told Horn to his face that he didn’t think he won the fight.

“Congratulations, great effort, but I thought you lost,” Atlas said. Pacquiao, standing alongside them, cracked a wide smile.

On Monday, Horn explained that he felt the timing of Atlas’ rant was lacking class.

“Everyone has a right to their opinion. The timing of their opinions can be a bit off sometimes. He was trying to ruin the moment for me at that point. It would have been good for him to say it another time. Say what you want, Teddy,” Horn said.

www.boxingscene.com/horn-atlas-tried-ruin-my-moment-say-what-you-want-teddy–118159?print_friendly=1

By Maloney L. Samaco –Manny Pacquiao won two times the past year 2016, the first one on a trilogy and the second one coming out of brief retirement. Those two impressive wins make the fighting senator a candidate for the Fighter of the Year honors.

Ranked No. 7 pound-for-pound by The Ring, Pacquiao knocked No. 9 P4P Bradley down twice in Rounds 7 and 9 and outpointed him in practically the twelve rounds of the fight.

Pacquiao landed 28% (122 of 439) punches thrown, and 46% of power punches (92 of 201) compared to Bradley’s 33% (99 of 302) punches landed and 40% (87 of 218) of power punches thrown according to CompuBox.

Pacquiao won the WBO international welterweight title fight by unanimous decision with a score of 116-110 from all three judges.

In his comeback fight, Pacquiao defeated Jessie Vargas by 114-113, 118-109, 118-109 unanimous decision becoming the new WBO welterweight champion. The 37-year-old aging warrior knocked the 27-year-old champion down in the second round with a sharp counter punch and dominated the American all night.

Pacquiao landed 36% (147 of 408) punches thrown, and 48% of power punches (101 of 212) compared to Vargas’ 19% (104 of 561) punches landed and 23% (70 of 305) of power punches thrown according to CompuBox.

In its Fighter of the Year ranking, CompuBox placed Pacqiuao 5th behind its 1st placer Terence Crawford with 49 points, 2nd placer Vasyl Lomachenko with 44, 3rd placer Andre Ward with 39, and 4th placer Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez with 31. Pacquiao got 27 points ahead of 6th placer Carl Frampton with 20.

Point Totals were based on each listed six fighter’s 2016 fights with 6 pts. awarded for the leader in each of the 10 listed categories, 5 pts. for No. 2, 4 pts. for No. 3, 3 pts. for No. 4, 2 pts. for No. 5 and 1 pt. for No. 6.

The categories are Total Landed/Round, Total Thrown/Round, Total Connected %, Jabs Landed/Round, Power Landed/Round, Power Connected %, Opponents’ Total Connected %, Opponents’ Power Connected % and Opponents’ Total Landed/Round.

Pacquiao placed No. 2 in the Power Connected % category.

Even if he is a darkhorse for the FOTY, Pacquiao still showed the world that he is still one of the top fighters of the world in 2016.

www.philboxing.com/news/story-124895.html

A few days away from the biggest fight of his career, Jessie Vargas is supremely confident he will pull off an upset against former eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao and become boxing’s next big star.

“I’ve prepared for this moment for so long. It’s the only thing on my mind, every day when I wake up and when I go to sleep,” Vargas, 27, said by phone. “I have a great team behind me, and things could not be any better.”

Vargas (27-1, 10 KOs), the WBO welterweight champion, and Pacquiao (58-6-2, 38 KOs), the first-term Filipino senator who is coming out of a short retirement, are promoted by Top Rank, which, in addition to marketing the fight, is handling its own pay-per-view telecast (Saturday, 9p.m. ET) from Thomas & Mack Center in Vargas’ hometown of Las Vegas.

Despite the fact that Pacquiao, 37, is a 7-1 favorite, Top Rank chairman Bob Arum thinks Vargas, a decade younger than his opponent and several inches taller, has a great chance to defeat Pacquiao, who has not won by a knockout in seven years.

“The reason is that Manny has been consumed by all of this talk that he has to become a knockout guy again, he has to go all out to sustain his popularity,” Arum said, “so Manny will go after Jessie and be very, very careless. … If Manny is going to go in there with the intention of knocking out Jessie and being very aggressive, that gives Jessie the best opportunity to win the fight.

“He becomes not just a champion but a superstar. I will deny to him that I said that because I will have to negotiate his next fight,” Arum said, laughing. “He would be a superstar, there is no question about that, if he were to beat Manny Pacquiao.

“I don’t know who is going to win, but I’m confident it’ll be by knockout. Jessie has a hell of a shot to win.”

If that happens, Vargas says, a star will be born. “That’s what’s going to make me into a household name and Top Rank’s main guy in the stable,” he says.

Vargas’ confidence comes from his newfound power, which the fighter credits to the training methods of his new team, led by head trainer Dewey Cooper.

Until his last two fights, Vargas was considered a light-hitting boxer with a low knockout rate.

But in June 2015, after getting outboxed most of the way by Timothy Bradley, Vargas connected with a right hand late in the 12th round that seemingly had the former champion wobbly and out on his feet. Vargas went for the kill, but referee Pat Russell mistook the 10-second warning for the final bell and ended the fight eight to 10 seconds early. Thinking Russell had stopped the fight and he had won, Vargas celebrated. He thought he could’ve been the first to stop Bradley with the extra time but ended up losing a unanimous decision for his only career loss.

In April in Washington, D.C., Vargas fought undefeated former Olympian Sadam Ali for the vacant WBO belt. With Cooper in his corner for the first time, Vargas stopped Ali in the ninth round, and suddenly people began talking about Vargas’ power.

Yet few give him a chance against future Hall of Famer Pacquiao, who will try to win back the belt he once held. Many experts, including those in the media, think Vargas has little or no shot.

“People are underestimating my power, and possibly if Manny underestimates my power it’s going to backfire on him,” Vargas said. “Everybody got a taste of the new and improved Jessie Vargas early this year when I captured my second world title and will see an even better Jessie Vargas Nov. 5. Not even I have seen myself this strong and this fast. And it all has to do with my team.”

Pacquiao, who trained for the fight around his Senate sessions, is not taking Vargas lightly.

“Vargas is a world champion, and you can never underestimate a boxer who is a champion,” Pacquiao said. “He is good. I just have to make sure that I am 100% ready for the fight”.

www.boxingjunkie.usatoday.com/2016/11/02/welterweight-champ-jessie-vargas-confident-pset-manny-pacquiao/

By Scott Gilfoid: WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas (27-1, 10 KOs) has signed his contract for a unification match against IBF 147lb belt holder Kell Brook (36-0, 25 KOs) for a contest that will be taking place in September in the UK. There’s a possibility the fight could take place on August 27, according to Dan Rafael.

If not, then September 3. The fight will be in Brook’s home city of Sheffield at Bramall Lane. The fight is going to be at a large football stadium. Brook and his promoter Eddie Hearn have spoken about wanting to fight in a large football stadium in the summer, but I never thought this would be the fight.

I mean, I don’t see Vargas as being a stadium worthy opponent. I’m just saying. I know Brook wants a big name, but Vargas is not a big name. I don’t be the bearer of bad news for Brook and Hearn, but Vargas is not a big name in the U.S at least.

I don’t know. Maybe Vargas is a huge star in the UK? If so, then more power to Brook for getting him as his opponent. Brook wants to collect welterweight titles. I guess it’s some kind of thing that will validate him. I don’t think so. If Brook wins the WBO title off Vargas, he’ll still be a paper champion in my eyes because he still will not have faced Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia or Errol Spence. Beating Vargas is small time stuff in my view. Brook needs to face Spence, Thurman, Garcia and he needs a rematch against Shawn Porter.

Vargas will be getting a career high payday of $1.7 million. That’s pretty good money for a fighter that arguably no better than ninth best fighter in the 147lb division. Vargas is a decent fighter, but I rate many welterweights ahead of him including Brook. It’s good that Vargas is getting a nice payday but I can’t see him beating Brook.

“It’s really exciting,” manager Cameron Dunkin said to ESPN.com. “It’s a great opportunity for Jessie. It’s a fight think he can win. I love his attitude. He’s so positive. He’s training like a madman. He’s really serious about getting this win. It’s not just the payday. He wants to win the fight. I love the attitude. Win, lose, whatever, he’s so confident in himself. I’m really proud of him.”

Nah, I don’t agree with Dunkin. I think Vargas is a good basic fighter, but I do not see him beating Brook, especially with the fight taking place in Sheffield. Vargas is going to need to be looking for a KO because I can’t see him winning a decision.

If I was to give Vargas in how to prepare for the Brook fight, I would tell him to work on fighting out of a clinch because Brook may resort to holding all night long if he doesn’t like the sting from Vargas’ shots. Brook was clinching all night long against Porter and getting away with it by not losing points. Vargas needs to train in how to keep throwing punches while being held in a clinch because he may need these tools to help him get Brook to let go of him.

Vargas is a step up for Brook for who he’s been fighting lately. In Brook’s last three fights, he’s beaten Kevin Bizier, Jo Jo Dan and Frankie Gavin.

www.boxingnews24.com/2016/06/jessie-vargas-signs-contract-kell-brook-fight/

WBO welterweight world champion Jessie Vargas celebrates with Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, Top Rank President Todd duBoef, and manager Cameron Dunkin at Top Rank headquarters in Las Vegas on Monday.

www.fightnews.com/Boxing/shot-of-the-day-148-328344

Dear Timothy:

I am in receipt of your February 4, 2016 letter wherein you state that given your upcoming fight against Manny Pacquiao on April 9, 2016 you are unable to comply with WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests, the WBO Championship Committee’s Resolution of November 6, 2015 (ordering the winner of Bradley vs. Rios to face WBO Mandatory Challenger Sadam Ali), and must vacate your WBO Welterweight Title.

Do know that we wholly understand your decision and commend you for always giving fans the best fights possible and doing what is best for your career at this important juncture. You have been an outstanding, honorable and loyal WBO Junior Welterweight and Welterweight Champion of the World and the doors of the WBO will always be open for you. Finally, I am pleased to inform you that we are preparing a special recognition for the Pacquiao vs Bradley III winner— two remarkable fighters and worthy ambassadors to the WBO.

Wishing you all the best,

Francisco Valcarcel, Esq.

Cc: Luis Batista Salas, Esq. – Bob Arum

Photos: Chris Farina/Top Rank –

WBO Welterweight Champion Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley Jr., former world champion Brandon Rios made their grand arrivals for their upcoming world title fight on Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on HBO.

Also arriving was two-time Ukrainian Olympic gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko, who is defending his WBO featherweight world title against Top-10 world-rated contender Romulo Koasicha of Mexico to open the HBO telecast.

Nov 4 , 2015, Las Vegas,Nevada . — WBO Welterweight Champion Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley Jr. makes his grand arrival for his upcoming title defense against former world champion Brandon Rios, Saturday, Nov. 7, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on HBO.
— Photo Credit : Chris Farina – Top Rank 

Nov 4 , 2015, Las Vegas,Nevada . — Former world champion Brandon Rios makes his grand arrival for his upcoming title fight against WBO Welterweight Champion Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley Jr. , Saturday, Nov. 7, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on HBO.
— Photo Credit : Chris Farina – Top Rank 

Nov 4 , 2015, Las Vegas,Nevada . — Two-time Ukrainian Olympic gold medalist VASYL LOMACHENKO makes his grand arrival for his upcoming world title defense. LOMACHENKO, defending his WBO featherweight world title against Top-10 world-rated contender ROMULO KOASICHA of Mexico, will open the HBO telecast featuring the Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley Jr. vs Brandon Rios WBO Welterweight world championship fight, Saturday, Nov. 7, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
— Photo Credit : Chris Farina – Top Rank

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/bradley-rios-lomachenko-grand-arrivals-312256#more-312256

Photo credit:  Stephanie Keith for NY Daily News –

Buboy Fernandez, the assistant coach for WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs), says Pacquiao is training to attack challenger Chris Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) with nonstop punches in their fight on November 22nd at the Cotai Arena, Venetian Resort, Macao, Macao S.A.R., China.

Pacquiao will be looking to wash over Algieri like a Tsunami next month in their HBO pay-per-view televised fight on Championship Boxing.

Buboy figures that the all-out attacking style of fighting for the 35-year-old Pacquiao could produce a knockout early if the slender Algieri chooses to slug with him. Why Algieri would do that is unknown, because if he watched his last fight against Ruslan Provodnikov, you can see that Algieri was moving constantly and not mixing it up.

“We are training him for more head movements, more punching combinations and a non-stop assault,” Buboy said to Philboxing.com. “We expect a bigger and taller Algieri to run around the ring. We should be ready for that. But, just in case, Algieri decides to mix it up then much better. The fight would end earlier.”

Pacquiao always fights the same pretty much. If Buboy’s plan for Pacquiao to beat Algieri is for him to go and throw nonstop combinations then he’d better come up with a good plan-B, because that’s a style that is more suited towards stationary fighters like Brandon Rios rather than movers like Algieri.

You’d hate to think that Pacquiao will be spending 7 weeks working on trying to storm a stationary foe by throwing 100 punches per round. What Buboy and Pacquiao need to be work on is trying to cut off the ring against movers like Algieri. Pacquiao looked horrible each time Tim Bradley used any kind of movement in their fight last April, as he showed no improvement in cutting off the ring from their first fight. Pacquiao was able to beat Bradley only because he chose to stand and trade instead of using movement like he did in their first fight.

“We will employ non-stop pressure. Our fighting congressman will chase him wherever he goes. Then try to throw three to five punching combinations to the head and body,” Fernandez said.

Pacquiao’s ability to cut off the ring could be hampered by his tendency to cramp up when he moves a lot. If he gets a case of cramps against Algieri on November 22nd then it’s quite possible that Algieri is going to box circles around him.

I’m not sure that the judges will give Algieri a decision no matter how good he looks, but he sure will make Pacquiao look every bit the loser if he can’t cut off the ring. It almost doesn’t matter if Algieri gets robbed. If he can make Pacquiao fight like he has two left feet like Bradley did in 2012 then the boxing public will ignore any decision handed down by the judges and see Algieri as the winner.
http://www.boxing247.com/boxing-news/buboy-pacquiao-will-be-attacking-algieri-with-a-non-stop-assault/34609#JF9VMSDrZsKg1udK.99

General Santos City, Philippines – WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao is already training hard for his upcoming bout with undefeated challenger Chris Algieri, who holds the WBO’s championship at junior welterweight, which is scheduled for November 8th at the Venetian in Macau, China. Pacquiao has resurrected his career in wake of back to back defeats in 2012, and is now looking to get his third consecutive victory against the up and coming Algieri.

http://www.boxingscene.com/photos-pacquiao-putting-work-algieri-clash–82758

Undefeated WBO junior welterweight champion Chris Algieri may be in training camp learning how to beat boxing superstar Manny “Pacman” Pcquiao, but this weekend it will be his alma mater that takes him to school.  Stony Brook University, where Algieri graduated with Honors, in 2007, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Care Management (Algieri also has a Masters degree in Clinical Nutrition from New York Institute of Technology), will host Chris as the “Alumni Fan of the Game” at Saturday’s annual Wolfstock Homecoming celebration among 11,000 fans and present to him a proclamation from Suffolk County Supervisor Steven Ballone declaring September 27th “Chris Algieri Day.”

“This is an incredible honor.  Stony Brook has played such an important part in my life personally and professionally, “said Algieri.  “I am confident my Seawolves can do to William & Mary on Saturday what I did to Ruslan Provodnikov last June — PULL OFF A BIG WIN.”

Algieri is scheduled to arrive on campus (100 Nicolls Rd., Stony Brook, NY 11790).at 3:30 p.m.

Here is a summary of his activities:

– Welcomed at LaValle Stadium by Stony Brook President Dr. Samuel L Stanley

– Interview on Stony Brook University’s School of Journalism “Wolfstock Live” student broadcast

– Pregame on-field presentations and ceremonies before the Seawolves vs. William & Mary football game

– Watching the game from the President’s Suite with Dr. Stanley and Dexter Bailey, Senior Vice President for University Advancement

– End of First Quarter on-field recognition as the Alumnus of the Game

– Second Quarter participation in Alumni/Student Contest

– Special Halftime Presentation from Algieri to President Stanley

Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs), from Huntington, NY on Long Island, has become one of boxing’s top stories, as well as being hailed as the 21st century real-life Rocky.  Over the last 22 months Algieri, a former kickboxing champion, has elevated himself from a prospect to a world-class contender to a world champion. After accumulating significant victories over top prospect Jose Alejo, former USBA champion Mike Arnaoutis, and highly-rated contender Emmanuel Taylor,  Algieri, stepped up in his HBO debut and challenged WBO junior welterweight champion “The Siberian Rocky”  Ruslan Provodnikov  on June 14   Despite suffering two knockdowns in the first round which closed his swollen right eye, Algieri who entered the fight as a 5-1 underdog, eschewed the natural instinct to panic and resolutely stuck to his game plan, expertly using his jab and supreme athletic ability to pick apart the defending champion to claim a split decision victory and the world title. The live, first-time airing of the fight averaged over 1.1 million viewers placing among the five most-viewed fights on cable this year.  In what could be a first for any professional boxer, Algieri used his purse from the Provodnikov bout to pay off his student loans.  He aspires to attend medical school after he concludes his boxing career.

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/algieri-to-be-honored-by-alma-mater-262289#more-262289

By Miguel Maravilla –
Photos: Chris Farina/Top Rank –

“I am glad and happy to fight again in Macao. It’s good for us to promote boxing in Asia and China,” eight division world champion and reigning WBO welterweight champion Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) told Fightnews.com on Wednesday. Pacman is set to take on WBO junior welterweight champion Chris Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) on November 22 in the Cotai Arena at the Venitian Hotel in Macao, China live on HBO Pay per view.

We caught up with Pacquiao in Los Angeles at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel. The international tour started in Macao, then made stops in Shanghai, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and will wrap today in New York. “The tour has been good. It’s been really fun. After this we’ll start to train,” Pacquiao said.

Pacquiao will begin his training camp with his longtime trainer Freddie Roach in Pacquiao’s hometown of General Santos City in the Philippines. This will be the second time in three fights that Pacquiao trains in the Philippines. “Training will be for about eight weeks we will know what to work on in preparation for this fight,” Pacquiao said. “It’s the same, it depends where you are fighting. In Macao it’s the same weather and time as the Philippines. If the fight was in the U.S then it’s good to train in LA at the Wild Card.”

In his previous fight, The Pacman avenged his controversial loss to Timothy Bradley Jr. “Before the second fight with Bradley I never thought of it as revenge. I just proved that I won the first fight,” Pacquiao said.

In Algieri’s his previous contest he dethroned Ruslan Provodnikov and win the WBO junior welterweight title. “The fight was very close he won the fight and he deserves it,” Pacquiao commented. “He got knocked down twice and came back. Let’s give him credit.”

Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach also trains Provodnikov and was in the corner for the Algieri fight. “I think Ruslan did enough to keep the title. It was a close fight. That’s the way things go. It could have gone either way,” Roach told Fightnews.com

The Long Island native stands at 5’10 and uses his height and reach to his advantage. The size difference between him and Pacquiao was obvious. “It’s nothing new for me to fight a taller opponent. I am not alarmed about that,” Pacquiao said.

Roach added “He is left handed and leads with the power hand. He has a good jab. We’ll be prepared to take that jab from him. We will have the right sparring partners, a bunch of tall guys.”

Pacquiao also talked to us about his desire of a rematch and fifth fight with his rival Juan Manuel Marquez. “You know I wanted the Marquez fight and they declined. We then went after the next best opponent,” Pacquiao said.

There have also been reports in recent days of a possible showdown with junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia later down the line. Pacquiao assured that the focus is currently set on Algieri. “Any fighter has a chance to fight with me but right now I have to focus on my upcoming fight with Algieri,” Pacquiao stated.

Pacquiao vs. Algieri will be a scheduled 12 round championship fight for Pacquiao’s WBO welterweight title. This will be Pacquiao’s 18th appearance on HBO PPV since bursting on to the scene with a sixth round TKO over Lehlohonolo Ledwaba back in 2001. As he went on to be a superstar scoring big wins over Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, and Timothy Bradley. Pacquiao looks to bring that intensity to the ring that helped him get those notable wins.

“I’m always motivated. I always have the fire in my heart. In my mind I have to continue to be intense,” Pacquiao said. “Expect a lot of action a good fight,” Pacquiao concluded.

Roach said “Don’t be surprised if Algieri runs late in the fight like he did against Ruslan.”

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/pacquiao-expect-a-lot-of-action-a-good-fight-259397

Photos: Chris Farina/Top Rank

Article By Karl Freitag –

The kickoff press conference for the November 22 clash of champions between WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao and WBO jr welterweight champion Chris Algieri took place Monday at the Venetian Macao in Macau, China.

“This fight is going to be a good fight,” promised Pacquiao. “Algieri is undefeated, he’s a good boxer, I saw his last fight with Ruslan. He took a lot of punches but he’s a very tough boxer and fought back…my opponent is tough and I like that. The last fight that we had here with Brandon Rios we did a good job, but Algieri’s different than Rios. He’s faster than Rios, he’s taller than Rios, so it will give me a hard time.

“It’s been a long time that the fans of Manny Pacquiao have been expecting a knockout. This fight I’m going to try to do my best to make the fans happy and if the knockout comes it’ll come, but what I’m trying to do is focus and win the fight.”

Algieri was very gracious toward the Pacquiao Team for accepting the fight and stated he deserved this chance. “I earned the right to be here,” said Algieri, who is significantly taller than Pacman. “I bled for this. I trained for this my whole life. This opportunity means the world to me. I’m going to prepare myself the best I possibly can…I will give it my absolute all, just like I showed in my last fight and every fight before that.”

Pacquaio’s trainer Freddie Roach said Manny’s training camp will be held in General Santos City, Philippines. “I know Chris has a master’s degree,” commented Roach. “But Manny has a Ph.D in boxing.”

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/pacquiao-and-algieri-face-off-in-macau-258169

More Pacquiao-Algieri Quotes

By:  Rob Smith —

If you wondered what Manny Pacquiao’s strategy will be for how he plans on beating WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley, Pacquiao revealed it in an interview this week. The strategy is simple. Pacquiao says he plans on throwing a lot of punches to force Bradley to deal a lot of incoming. Whether that’ll work or not is another thing.

Bradley isn’t someone that is going to just stand around and let Pacquiao throw 1000 punches at him in a 12 round fight like Joshua Clottey did against Pacquiao in 2010. Bradley has already said that he’s going to use a lot of movement against the Filipino fighter, and choose when and where he wants to mix it up with him.

Pacquiao said via esnewsreporting that he’s going to fight like a “Young Manny Pacquiao, [be] aggressive, throwing a lot of punches. I want to maintain my name at the top, and prove that I can still fight.”

There’s little question that Pacquiao can still fight. He proved that in whipping Brandon Rios last November in Macao, China. The thing that Pacquiao has to prove against Rios is that he can do a better job cutting off the ring against him than he did in their fight in June of 2012, because Pacquiao did a rotten job of forcing Bradley to fight. Pacquiao also did a bad job of fighting for the full three minutes of every round. He looked like he was taking long portions of each round off, and this enabled Bradley go steal the round with minimal effort in the last portions of the rounds.

Bradley is probably going to try the same trick in their rematch on April 12th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. We saw in Bradley’s last two fights against Ruslan Provodikov and Juan Manuel Marquez that Bradley would come on in the last part of the round to make sure that he won it on the judges score cards. That’s something that he’ll no doubt be trying to do against Pacquiao again. Bradley will likely move for 2.5 minutes of the round, and then go after Pacquiao in the last 30 seconds to try and impress the judges in order to win the round.

Pacquiao can still throw a lot of punches if he moves his feet quick enough to stay close to Bradley. However, if he lets Bradley circle in front of him without cutting off the ring, then he’ll be stuck dealing with Bradley coming after him when and where he wants to in the last seconds of the rounds.

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/2014/pacquiao-reveals-his-strategy-for-beating-bradley-im-going-to-throw-a-lot-of-punches/

Photos by Chris Farina/Top Rank –

New York,NY   —  (L-R) Superstar Manny Pacquiao and undefeated WBO World Welterweight  champion Timothy Bradley pose the New York press conference to announce their upcoming eagerly-anticipated rematch during a two-city media tour in Los Angeles and New York.  Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with MP Promotions and Tecate, Pacquiao vs. Bradley 2 will take place, Saturday, April 12 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.  It will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.   —

http://www.boxingscene.com/photos-pacquiao-bradley-go-face-face-new-york–74412

By Edward Chaykovsky –

WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (31-0, 12KOs) is relishing the opportunity to make things right on April 12th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, when he takes on Manny Pacquiao in a rematch of their controversial June 2012 clash. Bradley won the first meeting, with a controversial split decision victory.

Their mutual promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, was so irate over the scoring that he contacted the Nevada State Attorney General to conduct an investigation.

Since their fight, Bradley won a Fight of The Year battle with Ruslan Provodnikov and a twelve round split decision over Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao was knocked out cold by Marquez in the sixth round of their fourth fight in December 2012 and then returned to outclass Brandon Rios over twelve rounds in November of last year.

“Now I’m not the little dog on the block. I’m a top dog,” Bradley said to his hometown paper The Desert Sun. “I’m a lot more mature as a fighter, as a man. I’m a little older, Pacquiao is a little older, so it’s different. I’ve had some great wins in those two years and I feel I’m more than ready.

“It’s almost like I spar someone the first time. OK, you get a few shots. The second time, it’s much easier, because I know what to expect. Pacquiao can say the same thing about me. But Pacquiao only fights one-way guys. Only one way, and that’s the Pacquiao way.”

“I think Manny Pacquiao will get aggressive until he gets hit. People are going to laugh about this, and it’s OK, they can laugh. But like I said, if I was a non-puncher, if I didn’t have anything, guys would walk completely straight through me.”

http://www.boxingscene.com/bradley-pacquiao-easier-second-time-around–74060

By Salvador Rodriguez –

Former four division world champion Juan Manuel Márquez gave praise to Manny Pacquiao for his comeback victory on Saturday night, when the Filipino star won a dominating twelve round unanimous decision over Brandon Rios. It Pacquiao’s first fight since getting knocked out in the sixth round of last December’s fourth bout with Marquez.

Marquez, once again, said there is no interest in a fifth fight with Pacquiao, who returns on April 12 in Las Vegas. Marquez wants a rematch with WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley.

“It was important for Manny Pacquiao to look good, so they gave him an opponent like Brandon Rios for his return and he looked impressive. I believe that Bob Arum is doing his job in getting him these types of opponents, but it will be important to see him face tougher competition and see how he looks against those kind of fighters after suffering that knockout,” Marquez said.

But Marquez was not overly impressed because he felt Rios was a tailor-made opponent who had little chance of winning. Marquez says people should not get carried away with Pacquiao’s return until the fighter faces stiffer competition.

“He never gave Brandon Rios the opportunity to connect with a solid punch , so we didn’t get to see how Manny Pacquiao [would react] after that knockout,” said Marquez. “When Manny Pacquiao fights someone with speed and intelligence, someone who counters – Manny does not know what to do or what to expect. Brandon Ríos lacks speed and intelligence inside the ring. He is a fighter who just moves forward and punches. And if you do not bring speed with you, you are going to lose against him.”

http://www.boxingscene.com/marquez-not-overly-impressed-with-pacquiaos-win–72080

By Rene Umanzor –

Juan Manuel Marquez (55-7-1, 40KOs) plans to pursue a rematch with WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (31-0-1, 12KOs). Marquez felt he was robbed a few weeks ago when Bradley was awarded a twelve round split decision at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Marquez, 40 years-old, also felt he was robbed against Manny Pacquiao when he fought the Filipino star to a draw in 2004. He made a career mission to get revenge on Pacquiao, and that mission resulted in three more fights between the two.

Marquez says his main motivation to continue in boxing is to set the record straight against Bradley.

“I’m sad for what happened in my last fight, because I needed to win. I was more focused and stronger, but as I look to the future….what motivates me is a rematch with Bradley. Nothing else could take place if I don’t carry out this fight. I have to settle this issue with Timothy Bradley, as long as he accepts a rematch, because I want to make it clear who won on the 12th of October. Right now I’m not thinking about [other opponents], I’m more interested in making a rematch against Bradley to make it clear who is who. I already talked a bit with [trainer] Nacho [Beristain] and we feel that is the best option,” Marquez said.

http://www.boxingscene.com/juan-manuel-marquez-plans-pursue-bradley-rematch–70963

WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley is counting down the days until his second defense of his world world title, on Saturday night against former four division champion Juan Manuel Marquez at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. HBO Pay-Per-View will televise the event.

What can we expect on Oct. 12? Why do you feel you will beat Marquez?

Marquez: Juan Manuel Márquez took this fight because I have something he wants. My world championship title belt.  I am all that stands between him and history.  He wants to become México’s first champion to win world titles in five different weight division.

He wants that and I want something else. I want to beat Márquez to heighten my legacy in boxing.  This fight is my date with destiny.

I will win and do it so well on October 12 that Márquez’s fans will become my fans.

Everyone in the world thinks of Márquez and what he did to Manny Pacquiao in their last fight.

But it was the fourth time they fought. Márquez figured him out. He finally got the big win.  Perhaps even his career-defining win.

I am a different kind of fighter. I come to win. I never think of losing, it never crosses my mind. Márquez doesn’t know what to expect from me inside the ring. Like, for  example, my quick in-ring adjustments while fighting my opponents.  Like a quarterback, I am capable of calling and executing audibles when I need to adapt to what I am seeing.

Age will indeed be a factor. This is a young man’s game. Speed kills. So does quick footwork. I am faster and quicker and he won’t be sure what direction I’ll be coming from or what I’m going to be doing.  And as I showed with Ruslan Provodnikov, I have the will to win.  I cannot lose.  I will not lose. I will never give up my belt.

I always wanted to fight Márquez.  He is a great champion, a good family man and a credit to boxing and to México. I have nothing bad to say about him.
But October 12, at Thomas & Mack, will be my night.  The end of an era for Márquez.

This is my time.

Weigh-In Live: Bradley/Marquez debuts Friday, Oct. 11 at 6:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Bradley vs. Marquez takes place Sat., Oct. 12 live on HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00pm ET/6:00pm PT

http://www.boxingscene.com/bradley-end-an-era-marquez-coming–70354

WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley explains why he took a pass on a Manny Pacquiao rematch and selected former four division world champion Juan Manuel Marquez as his next opponent. The fight is scheduled to take place on October 12th at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. HBO Pay-Per-View will carry the fight.

Question: Bradley – Why did you choose Marquez as your next opponent instead of a rematch with Pacquiao?

Bradley: I have always been more interested in looking for new challenges than in doing what has been expected.  Though I was offered a rematch with Manny Pacquiao in Macau, the opportunity to fight another legend of my era — Juan Manuel Márquez — had far more appeal to me for several reasons.

Márquez is a boxing legend and a Méxican icon. He is coming off a career-best victory over his professional nemesis Manny Pacquiao. I am coming off my two career-best victories — over Pacquiao and Ruslan Provodnikov. It just made sense for me to fight Márquez next. Bradley vs. Márquez — a battle between the only two fighters to have beaten Manny Pacquiao in the past seven years. It got me excited as a fighter and as a fan. It was a no-brainer for me.

Challenges are what I am all about. They invigorate me. And the chance to fight Márquez in front of his legion of loyal Hispanic fans?  Heck, I’m riding that wave. I live for a fight like this. He wants to make history by being the first Méxican fighter to win five world titles in five different weight divisions. Chávez, Morales and Barrera never did that. I know he wants to make history. But I want to make my own history and beating Márquez and denying him of his ultimate goal, in the boxing capital of the world, will do just that.

If Manny Pacquiao can beat Brandon Rios in November than maybe we can have our rematch after that fight.  But timing is everything and the time for Bradley vs. Márquez is NOW.  I choose the battles I want to fight and I want to fight Márquez. This is my time.

24/7 Bradley/Marquez debuts Sat., Sept. 28 on HBO immediately after World Championship Boxing tripleheader.

Bradley vs. Marquez welterweight title fight takes place Sat., Oct. 12 live on HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00pm ET/6:00pm PT.

http://www.boxingscene.com/bradley-why-he-passed-on-pacquiao-picked-marquez–69705

By Ryan Burton –

Reigning WBO welterweight champion Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley waged a memorable war with tough Siberian contender Ruslan Provodnikov this past March in Carson, CA.  Bradley stood his ground and traded with the powerful puncher, getting hurt on several occasions throughout the fight.  The Southern California based fighter showed tremendous heart in withstanding the assault and ended up coming out on top in one of the leading “Fight of the Year” candidates.

The soon to be 30-year-old fighter is now scheduled to face Mexican icon Juan Manuel Marquez on October 12th in Las Vegas, NV.  On the most recent edition of BoxingScene Radio, Bradley told us that he thinks that we are in for another war when he steps in the ring with Marquez.

“You know what, I think that this fight is going to end up that way.  I am willing to do whatever it takes to win this fight.  If I need to go toe to toe that’s what I will do.  I know Marquez likes to engage.  He’s a dog in there and I am willing to weather the storm to get the win,” Bradley revealed.

Eyebrows were raised when Bradley turned down a rematch against former 8 division champion Manny Pacquiao.  Bradley created plenty of new opportunities after his gritty performance against Provodnikov set the boxing world abuzz this spring.  He said that a Pacquiao rematch wasn’t the only lucrative option available to him.

“It was really easy man (to fight Marquez instead of Pacquiao).  I have already been down that road, especially after the Provodnikov fight.  A new door opened.  The lights are brighter on my end after like you said, a ‘Fight of the Year candidate’,” Bradley told BoxingScene Radio.

Bradley did however say that he does want a rematch with the Filipino superstar and that part of his reasoning for facing Marquez is that the aging Mexican fighter probably won’t be in the sport for too much longer. He wants to add Marquez’s name to his ledger and then will look at facing Pacquiao in the near future.

“Pacquiao and I definitely will have to get back in the ring sooner or later but I wanted this fight to add to my legacy before Marquez leaves the game.  He is almost 40 years old and may not have much time left.  He is motivated.  He wants to be the first Mexican fighter to win titles in 5 different weight classes.  He’s hungry and I am hungry.  It is going to be one hell of a fight,” Bradley stated.

You can listen to the show in its entirety by clicking here:http://tobtr.com/s/5031259

 http://www.boxingscene.com/bradley-willing-go-toe-toe-with-marquez-win–68002

By Miguel Rivera –

Undefeated WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (30-0, 12 KO’s) said the fight with Juan Manuel Marquez (55-6-1, 40 KO’s) is happening at the right time. Bradley wants to give the Mexican veteran his final defeat as a pro. Marquez, 40-years-old, came close to retiring for good after knocking out Manny Pacquiao in the sixth round of their fourth battle last December in Las Vegas. Bradley won a controversial twelve round decision over Pacquiao last June. He wanted to get Marquez in the ring before the Mexican star walked away from the sport.

“I want to be the last one to beat him. Physically I’m fine, I feel ready. The reason I wanted to fight him is because his family did not want him to fight anymore, they wanted him to retire. I said I’d rather face him [now] before [he retires]. I trained for twelve rounds. I don’t have a lot of knockouts but if it happens it would be great. If it don’t happen, then I’ll win by decision. I want to have all the credit for defeating a legend like Marquez. I’m going to be the new face of boxing on October 12,” said Bradley.

“I think Marquez is hungry and determined. He’s been doing this for a long time. He wants my title but my job is to keep it.”

http://www.boxingscene.com/tim-bradley-focused-give-marquez-his-final-defeat–67751

By Miguel Rivera –

Former four division world champion Erik Morales admits that Juan Manuel Marquez has finally turned himself into a superstar attraction. For years, since their time in Top Rank a decade ago, the two fighters had heat with each other and the two of them have attacked each other in the press numerous times when discussions to stage a fight between the two of them have fallen apart. Marquez, nearly 40-years-old, will face WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley on October 12th at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

“You’re always looking for the right moment to achieve something important in your life. One aspires to have athletic achievements but you also aspire for other things like economic success. Marquez is a fighter who did a lot of things throughout his career, but nothing like he’s been able to accomplish today.  Marquez’s timing is unmatched, he beat [Manny] Pacquiao at the right time and he deserves the position that he’s earned. He’s become a star attraction. 10 years ago he was a good fighter but he didn’t mean as much as he does today. I think he is in the best moment of his career,” Morales said.

http://www.boxingscene.com/erik-morales-juan-manuel-marquez-his-best-moment–67434

Los Angeles,Ca.    — (L-R) Undefeated WBO World Welterweight  champion Timothy Bradley and four-division champion Juan Manuel Marquez pose during the commercial shoot for their upcoming Oct 12  world championship fight at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas,Nevada.  Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Zanfer Promotions, Wynn Las Vegas, Márquez Boxing, and Tecate, Bradley vs. Márquez  will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®.  Tickets to Bradley vs. Márquez go on sale This Friday! June 21.  — Photos by Chris Farina/Top Rank.

http://www.boxingscene.com/photos-bradley-juan-manuel-marquez-go-face-face–66797