Pac completely dominated him in the first fight but I expect this time to be a lot closer. Bradley has improved and has gone on to win 2 big fights. His best chance is probably to go to war with Pac from the start. Even though I want Pac to win (by devastating KO) but I still have concerns that his heart just isn't in it anymore.
I think I had it 9-3 or 8-4 to Pacman. And don't forget Bradley fractured his foot in the early rounds. I just want to see a good fight.
Nope, not at all. Only thing is that I hope Khan smashes Broner even he got played like a cheap hoe by Mayweather and he's still following him around but Broner needs another beating.
I thought Danny Garcia would be a good match up for Mayweather, until he fought Herrera and lost oops, i mean won.
I like Pacquiao's attitude to the Bradley fight: Question For Manny Pacquiao - At 35, how has your motivation to compete changed from earlier in your career? "My motivation is the same now as it was when I started my boxing career. I love the competition and I love to win. When that stops, so does my professional boxing career. But I don't see that happening for a long time. Because I am facing Tim Bradley again I am extra motivated for this fight. I may not have won the decision the first time we fought but I know I did not lose that fight. I want the world title he won from me back around my waist. I want to prove I am the better fighter. Freddie Roach and Justin Fortune are asking more from me in this training camp than I have ever given before and as hard as that is to do, I am giving them everything they have asked of me. Too much is at stake for me and for my country. I want to end my career on a winning streak and against the best fighters. No one has ever defeated Tim Bradley during his professional career. I want to be the first name in his loss column. It will not be easy. Nothing at the world championship level is easy. I still have the hunger and the desire to win and I appreciate Tim Bradley giving me this rematch to prove it. Unfortunately for him, on April 12, I will not be able to repay him that favor with kindness. "
Justin Fortune and Alex Ariza have both been linked with PED's. Freddie Roach now admits that Alex Ariza would give Pacquiao a "mystery drink" during training. In addition to this there are reports that one of his former training partners had injected him regularly with steroids, but that Pacquiao went on to use a less detectable HGH+insulin mix. The most telling feature of this story is the fact that Pacquiao was "scared of needles" but now is not. ?? What are your guy's thoughts on this? I definitely think there was foul play between the years of 2008-2010
Pacquiao has never taken steroids or any prohibited drug knowingly. He just doesn't have the body type for it and when the day of the fight arrives he usually has a hard time coming close to the lower limit of the weight division he is fighting in and is giving his opponents a marked advantage in weight. Most fighters on steroids do the opposite. He also demonstrated to his sparring partners who have said this time and time again that it is his incredible work ethic and his speed(both hands and feet) that makes him so successful. You cannot improve a fighter's speed or footwork with drugs(PEDS or otherwise) and it is this same attributes that makes him the special fighter that he is no matter how much you would like to dismiss his success. And even before he became famous in the US, as a flyweight in the Philippines, he was known to have knocked down in sparring much heavier opponents including a Japanese welterweight, so his exploits within the past decade is not really anything new.
You don't find it odd that the powerful version of Pacman suspiciously disappeared when the heat was on due to doping speculation? Which caused him to cease using steroids and also caused JMM to start using steroids and the result was a JMM KO. Don't you find it rather strange that he all of a sudden is not afraid of needles or doesn't believe that the test will weaken him? Why wouldn't he take the Mayweather test?? My thoughts are that he was doping.
I just think with the prevalence of PED's in every sport, especially boxing, of which many Boxers went on to fight undetected for YEARS, that it is naive to think someone who refused to take a blood test for two and a half years is clean
The only time he refused needles was for that first negotiation he had with Mayweather. I think he did it on principle, rather than a real fear of needles, because he didn't like being accused of using illegal drugs. Since then, he has been on record as saying that he will take any test and fight Mayweather anywhere to make that fight happen. He is the one chasing Mayweather all this time, even trying to bypass Arum(who I think is the main obstacle for this fight happening because of Mayweather's animosity to Manny's promoter) sending his own representative to talk to him and declaring that he is willing to take less money and take any test, to make this fight happen. Of course Mayweather kept on adding conditions when ever Manny agreed to a previous request. Mayweather has said that he will never fight Manny while Arum is promoting him. We might have to wait until next year, when Manny is presumably free of obligations to Arum, before we see this fight happening, because of Mayweather's stand.
As I want to point out to you again, you cannot improve hand and foot speed with drugs and that is Manny's bread and butter. You cannot take that away from him, regardless of who you support.
It would be quite naïve to think fighters like Pacquiao weren't using some sort of PED in their careers. To have moved up in so many weight classes without losing physical attributes is unheard of. Most guys through out the history of the sport end up losing some advantage(s) as they move up. Mayweather lost his power. His hands were always quite brittle as well, but there's no doubt he left his power in the light weight division. Whereas Pacquiao not only kept and seemingly added power to his game. He also retained his speed. I've been a writer for the sport in the past. Without name dropping...I know plenty of reputable guys in the sport that believe Pacquiao, amongst others have definitely utilized PEDs in their careers. Here's a fundamental about boxing when it comes to moving up in weight classes. You cannot add without subtracting Meaning, if you're going to add weight to move up. You're going to lose something in it's replacement. It's been a simple fact of the sport for years over. Marquez definitely needed them to beat Pac. You don't reach his athletic prowess late in a career without outside synthetic help. We see guys getting popped left and right in the MMA world because that sport is taking a definitive stand against PED useage. Don't think for a minute that boxers aren't using them since it's far more easier to get away with it...for now. Hopefully things change and the playing field is even for all participants in the ring.
Mayweather pointed it out one time when everyone was emphasizing out how many weight divisions Manny has won, that he was also a multi division champion in the lower weight divisions in the amateur ranks, at the same age that Manny won all those professional titles. Manny just started fighting professionally at a younger age(16 y/o) and never fought in the Olympics unlike Floyd. Certainly you can add power, stamina and strength with drugs and training. But as I want to point out again, you cannot gain the hand and foot speed that Manny has, no matter how much you train or how many drugs you take. Only God can give you that. The fact that he was able to retain his speed as he went up in weight doesn't diminish this fact. As for the power factor while coming up in weight, except for his knockout of Hatton, which could happen to anyone caught moving forward into a big punch( just like Marquez did to Manny), most of his wins were through TKO's and accumulated damage from his buzz like punching. You hear the same refrain after each fight, from heavier opponents like De la Hoya, Cotto, Margarito and Rios. "He doesn't really punch that hard, he was just too fast and punches from all angles. I just couldn't see it coming." His technique also improved as he got older, moved up in weight and became more experienced as Freddie Roach began polishing him to become the 2 fisted smart fighter he is today who has learned to fight defensively to go along with his attacking prowess.
I'm not sure where you got your information about PEDs not helping out with speed? It definitely helps out in the speed category. Fast twitch muscles benefit from a variety of PEDs. Look at the U.S. track and field personnel like Marion Jones who were caught using PEDs. Track stars are always under scrutiny for potential PED use. There's so many types of PEDs out there that can improve many...many physical attributes. I remember reading about baseball players such as Jose Canseco(a known PED user) talk about how his PEDs helped with his eye and hand coordination. That would be a huge advantage in boxing. Because of the structure of combat sports. That is, no league like sanctioning body. The monitoring of PED useage has likely ran rampant in the last decade. We can use MMA as an example of how guys have been taking advantage of the leniency of combat sports when it comes to regulating PEDs. Many state commissions still don't utilize a PED test. Urine testing(the standard in boxing) is ridiculously dated. Only recently have they been trying to test for masking agents. The primary concern of these tests have been for amphetimines. Which were a problem in the sport at times. But that was years ago.
Manny has always had this speed even as a flyweight. He just didn't gain it all of a sudden like you would expect if he had some kind of artificial aid. Besides, he has been taking voluntary and additional drug testing(I think it is with VADA which takes surprise and random blood testing) on his own cognizance for his past few fights to prove to everyone that he is clean and his speed is still the same as it was and has not diminished an iota. Certainly I am not familiar with the latest synthetic drugs or cocktails, but I am a medical professional by training and have also taken courses in exercise physiology, so I am quite familiar with the type of muscle fibers you have mentioned. The kind of speed that Manny demonstrates cannot just be replicated. If it was, most fighters with the aide of the best scientific trainers or the best drugs, would be able to do the same. It is true that you can increase your speed somewhat through training, but not at the same level as Manny has demonstrated. That is where the genetic factor comes in.
Well let me throw this at you. The drug he's been accused of using the most is EPO. Which is supposed to help with allowing more oxygen into blood cells. Which in turn allows for better conditioning. I bring this up because if you recall. Manny was known to "gas" in the latter rounds early in his career. I recall shortly after Roach took him under he would tell people his strategy with Manny is to KO guys quick because he seems to slow down a bit too much for a lower weight division boxer. As you may know, lower weight guys are known to have stamina for days, but somehow Manny may have traded in that common high stamina trait for extraordinary strength in the lower weights. So a guy who was known for slowing down in the latter rounds at 122 lbs. can suddenly put on twenty plus more pounds, and keep that pace going for twelve rounds against naturally bigger men? That has always been the most glaring question mark for me in regards to Pacquiao. And like I've mentioned it's not just him who should have a cloud of suspicion. Just look at guys like James Toney, Julio Chavez Jr, Erik Morales, and Antonio Tarver. Big names who got caught using diuretics(a known PED masking agent). Four names out of hundreds of boxers actually caught. There's going to be some guys slipping through the cracks my friend. Especially when a guy such as Pacquiao can bring in big money. The last decade of boxing reminds me of the "steroid age" in baseball. When ratings were low(because of the baseball lockout) guys starting racking the ball out the park at an alarming rate. Viewer interest came back and came back big. Then we find out it was all because of PEDs. But no one did anything during that era because viewership and MONEY was coming in. Same could definitely be said of boxing and the PED use in recent years. What they pulled off in baseball during that time could easily be done in boxing with no single sanctioning body that can overlook all facets of the sport.
From what I have heard from practically every trainer, sparring partner, reporter or neutral observer who has watched him train, his work ethic is unparallelled when he is motivated. Freddie Roach mentions that he even has to slow him down because he keeps on asking for more rounds on the training mitts or sparring than his training schedule permits and after those are over, he would normally go do crunches or other exercises over and beyond what other fighters do. EPO is the last drug I would expect Manny to take. He just doesn't need it. When he is motivated, he is just the hardest working fighter out there, which is why he can fight the same way from beginning to end. On the instances when he is distracted or is lacking motivation for certain fights, he certainly could have problems with stamina, but not when he was fighting bigger and stronger fighters, since he knew he had to be at his best or he could get hurt. His style of fighting which involves constant movement both side to side as well as forward and backward, necessitates this kind of training as he has to sustain this movement from beginning to end. Certainly from what I have read, since his loss to Marquez, he has been extremely motivated to train and I would expect stamina would be the least of his problems. As for PEDs, VADA has been testing him(through blood sampling) on a random basis(which can catch even those who use masking agents as they are unable to time their drug use to fit the testing), and he has always been proven clean.
I have been saying this from 2009 Manny was on PEDs and Money Mayweather knew it. Why would you put your title on the line to fight a cheater9!!
Doubter will always be doubters. I can say the same about Mayweather who has been accused many times of avoiding fighters that can challenge him. Marvin Hagler just said yesterday that Mayweather is afraid of fighting Pacquaio. Other all time greats like Tyson, Holmes etc. have done the same. Should we believe these all time greats, who never ducked anyone and took on all time comers resulting in many of boxing's great rivalries or Mayweather who has a history of avoiding fighters who can challenge him in the past and denying the rest of us boxing fans some of the great fights of our generation? As for all this PEDS suspicions, if you can't provide any evidence, except your doubt, then at least give your reasons that will refute what I have already said above. Manny has taken voluntary random drug testing to prove his point. How about the doubters?
The reason Manny has lost his "power" so to speak is become he has become a man of God. No bullshit, he was a better fighter when he was out drinking and nailing everything within eye-sight. He has become too soft (some would say he is more compassionate now). He hasn't lost his power but his killer instinct has been lost. Starting with the Mosley fight he had ample opportunity to knock out guys but has let up in the later rounds when he thinks he has won.
I brought up a few points that would lead one to question Manny's profound, but yet suspicious abilities. The one that cannot be explained is how a natural 118-130 fighter can have stamina issues in those weight classes. Then move up three weight classes, and suddenly has all the energy in the world. It makes zero sense. He not only brought his speed and power, but now he's added a ridiculous work rate to his game. When you move up in weight classes in any combat sport. You will eventually lose or have some physical attributes diminished. No one overcomes that. UNLESS...you have that synthetic assistance. You keep mentioning Manny's style, and how his hand speed is the difference maker in fights. I'm not questioning that. But it goes against how he started his career. Pre Roach and Ariza this guy was a one punch fighter. Albeit a very powerful guy for the weight class. I'll give Roach some credit on his tutelage of Pac. He taught him better technique, but he did not teach him to ignore simple fundamentals of human anatomy in the sport. No man in this sport moves up that high out of his natural weight class and gets physically better. You will lose something. Even if you're a bigger guy cutting crazy weight to have an advantage at a lower weight class. The stamina or some other attribute will be lessened. And you can only do that for so long because age and metabolism will end that advantage over time.