LAS VEGAS — Freddie Roach said he won?t be surprised if Manny Pacquiao takes Timothy Bradley out the way he took Ricky Hatton out.
?We will jump on this guy,? said Roach after Pacquiao?s final workout at the Top Rank Gym tucked somewhere outside The Strip.
But that?s if Bradley would allow it.
Roach said Pacquiao is capable of taking Bradley out early when the two champions clash on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
?With Manny?s power, yes,? said the celebrated trainer.
Pacquiao fans are crying for a knockout. For one, he hasn?t scored a knockout in his last four fights. A knockout of Bradley will also erase questions that he?s already washed up, past his prime.
Pacquiao is coming off a razor-thin victory over his Mexican nemesis, Juan Manuel Marquez, last November, and many feel this fight with Bradley should help erase all doubts.
?I do feel he has a knockout on his mind,? Roach told the press Thursday in a round-table discussion.
?I don?t know what round because Tim could be a little more resilient. But maybe we can catch him later on,? said Roach, who must be praying for a knockout as well.
He just won?t say it.
In fact, a few days ago, he said he?d be happy with a decision as long as it?s an impressive one, perhaps something like the one against Antonio Margarito.
?We don?t need a knockout to please everyone,? said Roach.
Bradley completely disagrees with Roach that he?s going to fall like Hatton, down and out, cold, in the second round against Pacquiao in 2008.
That was four years ago.
?There?s nothing you can say to me that will hurt me. I?m built and I?m strong. Nothing bothers me,? said Bradley.
?He?s (Roach) the best trainer in the world but he thinks I?m Ricky Hatton? That?s how he analyzes me? Then he?s not the best trainer in the world,? he said.
Bradley is out to prove Pacquiao?s trainer wrong.
