INDIO ? Cathedral City boxer Timothy Bradley promised fans and the media they will be in for a spectacle when he takes on fighter of the decade Manny Pacquiao on June 9 in what will be his career-defining moment.
A lot will be on the line for both fighters. For Pacquiao, who is guaranteed $26 million for the fight, a loss could be damaging to a potential mega-fight against Floyd Mayweather. For Bradley, a victory would bring him the stardom he desires.
?It’s going to be a focused, determined, hungry storm on June 9, so stay tuned,? said Bradley, nicknamed the Desert Storm. ?It’s going to be a fight to remember. Manny is going to bring it and I’m going to bring it, too. You got two guys who are going to bring it and put it all on the line. I’m not going to take no for an answer and neither is he. You have a big wreck coming on June 9.?
Bradley held his open workout at the Indio Boys and Girls Club on Thursday. The gym was packed with fans and media bused in from Los Angeles and Las Vegas by promoters Top Rank. Also in the crowd was promoter Bob Arum, the founder of Top Rank, as well as the TV crew for the HBO series ?24/7.?
Top Rank also announced that starting Monday, they will provide Bradley a bus for his disposal until the fight. Lee Samuels, the public relations director for Top Rank, said a bus driver will be available to Bradley around the clock until after the fight.
What fans heard Thursday was a confident Bradley, who believes he can beat Pacquiao.
Bradley points to his youth, speed and durability as reasons why he can upset a fighter who is destined to make the Hall of Fame.
And when Bradley said he can fight Pacquiao this weekend, he’s not kidding. Prior to Bradley’s workout, he weighed in at 150, but said he will easily drop to 147, the mandated weight for the WBO welterweight championship fight, after his workout.
Bradley typically fights at 140, where he is the three-time world light welterweight champion. But the Bradley camp said there is no fear that Bradley is peaking too soon, or that he will come into the fight too light and give Pacquiao a size advantage.
