In my column yesterday, I didn’t emphasize enough that Timothy Bradley would never be a sparring partner for either Amir Khan but especially not for Manny Pacquiao.
Here is a link to it.
http://www.examiner.com/x-11372-Dallas-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m12d21-Tim-Bradley-is-NOT-and-WONT-be-a-Manny-Pacquiao-sparring-partner
Bradley told Steve Kim of www.maxboxing.com, “I don’t want to give Manny a look at me. I’m not a sparring partner for anyone.”
Freddie Roach first brought up Bradley’s name publicly as a sparring partner for Pacquiao from what I have gathered. Was it one of Freddie’s famous head games or just a real silly thing to do?
Bradley is 25-0 (11 KO’s) and has four title defenses behind him. Maybe it’s a cultural thing, but he is a star in America and he simply isn’t anyone’s sparring partner. It elevates Bradley in the eyes of fans and media because of their respect for Roach.
Sparring partners won’t admit it until years later, but they are psychologically submissive to the fighter they are working for. They do what they have to do to keep their jobs. They do what they are told. The worst thing a trainer can do is let the fighters bond, because one day they might have to fight each other for real or sell their secrets about each other.
No matter how friendly the camaraderie seems at the time, the one thing boxer’s do is talk. It’s the rare fighter that treats the gym like it’s Las Vegas. You know the saying, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”
Only the few in the inner circle know what the deal is with Roach, Pacquiao and Amir Khan. Today they are a weight division apart and have different promoters and share trainer Roach. That they at least are compatible is convenient for all involved. If either fighter were selfish, this arrangement wouldn’t work.
If Pacquiao only has two or three fights left they could milk this to the end of Pacquiao’s career. But who knows?
I said just 48 hours ago that Khan reminds me of the late, legendary Alexis Arguello. I see potential greatness in Khan. But he needs more fights. He’s only 23. He needs to fight more than he needs to be marketed. Another Breidis Prescott will eventually find his chin.
Khan has a title but he still has to mature as a fighter. The titles will come and go.
Word is that HBO is planning a March 6 doubleheader featuring WBA 140 Champion Khan vs. TBA (maybe Paulie Malignaggi?) and Interim WBA 140 Champion Marcos Maidana vs. WBC Champion Devon Alexander.
That would be a great night of boxing and let us know who might emerge as an opponent for Bradley at 140.
I doubt either Bob Arum (Pacquiao) or Frank Warren (Khan) give a darn about anything other than Freddie Roach being with their fighter and that is when and where a break up or temporary separation is smart and Khan at first will get the short end of that stick because of time served and loyalty Pacquiao comes first.
I remember one famous conflict back on July 26, 1971. The great Angelo Dundee managed heavyweight contender Jimmy Ellis, and he trained Muhammad Ali – both out of Louisville, Kentucky.
Ellis, a true light heavyweight eventually won the World Boxing Association Heavyweight Championship but lost it to New York Champion Smokin’ Joe Frazier.
Frazier – Ellis actually set up Frazier vs. Ali, known as the “Fight of the Century,” at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Ellis and Ali finally had to fight each other in the Houston Astrodome just four months after Frazier’s historic 15 – round unanimous decision over Ali.
Dundee decided he had to work the corner of Ellis that night because he had been with him longer and it was the honorable thing to do.
Ali stopped a game Ellis in the 12Th and final scheduled round.
Everyone got along and no friendships were ruined.
