LAS VEGAS (PNA) — The last meeting between World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao and junior welterweight titleholder Timothy Bradley was four months ago during the coast-to-coast press conference to announce their fight for the former’s 147-pound division crown.
Not much happened in the interval since then even as the duo conducted their separate preparations with Pacquiao spending three weeks in Baguio before transferring camp in Los Angeles and Bradley confining himself in home base Cathedral City in California.
The challenger, of course, has taken few minor swipes at the defending titlist, with his spin doctors proclaiming he had trained hard and long and that he now has what it takes to cut the Filipino icon’s winning run to 16 and himself extending his unbeaten streak to 28 and emerge champion in anew weight class.
Pacquiao, in his usual silent way, on the other hand, promises nothing except to say he will better than his last outing where he only managed a majority decision verdict over arch-enemy Juan Manuel Marquez.
In fact, it’s been his chief trainer Freddie Roach who’s taken the cudgel for his ward announcing to the whole world that when the smoke of battle is extinguished this coming June 9 (June 10 in Manila) his pupil of 11 years will still be the belt owner.
Today, the main protagonists in Saturday’s 62-round card,face each other again following that long four-month lull to themselves announce what they intend to do in their showdown at the MGM Garden Grand Arena. Pacquiao and Bradley are already in town having set foot in this gambling city last Monday in separate motorcade along with their respective teams.
A chance for them to meet face-to-face yesterday during the traditional “Grand Arrival” ceremony, but it was aborted when Pacquiao entered the lobby of MGM Hotel late by half-an-hour.
Bradley came on time for his commitment at noon to the cheers of his followers, whom he greeted by waving his hands in one corner of the ring, which, for years, has been a permanent fixture of the hotel lobby.
Pandemonium almost broke out as hundreds of fans, mostly Filipinos living here and in the adjacent cities in as far as California and Arizona cheered their idol as he surfaced from the glass door of the hotel.
Wearing a light brown jacket on top of a pink polo short, he stayed atop the ring for more than an hour amid fiesta atmosphere highlighted by the performance of the Filipina Dance Company of Las Vegas , a 10-year organization of members of the Filipino community here promoting and preserving Filipino Culture among the youth.
Earlier in the day, Pacquiao resumed working out by running for 30 minutes at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas then did the mitts with Roach at the Top Rank gym.
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