Bob Arum had been to both camps, watching the fighters in training. There’s Manny Pacquiao on one side, and Timothy Bradley on the other. On June 9 they slug it out for the former’s WBO welterweight crown.
Pacquiao is Arum’s cash cow, the apple of his eyes. No wonder he’s issuing this warning, so he won’t be blamed later for not doing it at all.
“Manny better be ready,” Arum told The STAR over the phone.
“Bradley is in such great, great shape,” added the chief of Top Rank which owns the promotional rights over Pacquiao and Bradley.
It’s not that Pacquiao’s isn’t ready or he’s not doing what it takes for him to be ready. Arum is simply saying that Bradley is no pushover.
“It’s going to be a tough fight,” he added.
It’s not a tough fight at all if you look at the odds, swaying at 3-1 or a little over, for the 33-year-old fighting superstar from the Philippines.
But Arum believes that anything can happen on June 9 at the MGM Grand, and he’s making sure Pacquiao is reminded of what he’s up against.
Bradley at 5’6” is an inch shorter than Pacquiao, but at 28 is five years younger.
Bradley, who looks more like a bodybuilder, carries a perfect record of 28-0 with only a dozen knockouts. Pacquiao is at 54-3-2 with 38 knockouts but none in his last four fights.
“Believe me, it’s not going to be easy,” Arum said.
Meanwhile, the highly-awaited rematch between IBF and WBA junior welterweight champion Lamont Peterson and Amir Khan on May 19 is off.
Peterson, who took the titles away from Khan with a controversial decision last December, just failed a doping test, and should be stripped of the titles.
Khan was surprised with the development, and is in fact hoping to get a fight with someone else later in June. He was in Baguio training under Freddie Roach last month. (www.philstar.com)
Pacquiao is Arum’s cash cow, the apple of his eyes. No wonder he’s issuing this warning, so he won’t be blamed later for not doing it at all.
“Manny better be ready,” Arum told The STAR over the phone.
“Bradley is in such great, great shape,” added the chief of Top Rank which owns the promotional rights over Pacquiao and Bradley.
It’s not that Pacquiao’s isn’t ready or he’s not doing what it takes for him to be ready. Arum is simply saying that Bradley is no pushover.
“It’s going to be a tough fight,” he added.
It’s not a tough fight at all if you look at the odds, swaying at 3-1 or a little over, for the 33-year-old fighting superstar from the Philippines.
But Arum believes that anything can happen on June 9 at the MGM Grand, and he’s making sure Pacquiao is reminded of what he’s up against.
Bradley at 5’6” is an inch shorter than Pacquiao, but at 28 is five years younger.
Bradley, who looks more like a bodybuilder, carries a perfect record of 28-0 with only a dozen knockouts. Pacquiao is at 54-3-2 with 38 knockouts but none in his last four fights.
“Believe me, it’s not going to be easy,” Arum said.
Meanwhile, the highly-awaited rematch between IBF and WBA junior welterweight champion Lamont Peterson and Amir Khan on May 19 is off.
Peterson, who took the titles away from Khan with a controversial decision last December, just failed a doping test, and should be stripped of the titles.
Khan was surprised with the development, and is in fact hoping to get a fight with someone else later in June. He was in Baguio training under Freddie Roach last month. (www.philstar.com)