Will Timothy Bradley be fighting a new Manny Pacquiao?

By Kieran Mulvaney

Manny Pacquiao - Photo Credit : Chris Farina - Top Rank

Timothy Bradley always liked to fight. In fact, he admitted on last week’s opening episode of “24/7: Road to Pacquiao-Bradley,” he was so ready to throw down as a child that he once even fired a couple of punches at a kid who accidentally and lightly bumped the back of Bradley’s legs - in his wheelchair.

He’s a calmer presence now, his aggression diverted into boxing from the age of eight, by a father who decided he “wasn’t going to have a thug living under my roof.” But if Bradley is a changed character from the tiny terror of Palm Springs’ North End, Manny Pacquiao, his opponent on June 9, is, it would seem, a much different man from … well, from the man who graced the MGM Grand ring last November 12.

Pacquiao struggled against Juan Manuel Marquez that night, eking out a majority decision in a fight that many had expected him to win more convincingly; but if the closeness of the verdict owed more to the fact that he was fighting a man who had fought him to a draw and a razor-thin points win in their previous two encounters, who has long been recognized as Pacquiao’s fistic nemesis, and who in hindsight deserved a lot more respect going into that third contest than he received, Pacquiao and his wife Jinkee feel that out-of-the-ring factors were also involved.

Pacquiao’s gym workouts in General Santos City are now, at least sometimes, immediately followed by a bible study group, led by the fighter/Congressman/singer/actor/businessman himself, a manifestation of a decision the Filipino made following that Marquez fight to turn around his life. There had been rumors of philandering; certainly, he admits on 24/7, there was gambling and drinking – vices, he says, he has now consigned to the trash can as he embraces his religion and his family life.

Whether such changes outside the ropes translate to improvement inside the ring will not be known before June 9. One might argue that a man who has won world titles in a record eight weight classes doesn’t need much improvement; conversely, the thought occurs that if he was able to wreak such havoc while wassailing until all hours, who knows what he might be capable of now?

Bradley, however, is unconcerned. He may no longer be prone to visiting violence on the wheelchair-bound, but he confesses to carrying around a chip on his shoulder, a chip that thrives and grows the more his chances are dismissed. That chip will likely be log-sized on June 9, because Bradley will be a heavy underdog, but he won’t care: After all, this is a man whose father threw a rock at his stomach during childhood training because they couldn’t afford a medicine ball.

If he can survive that, even look back on it and laugh, then theoretically he should have no fear of a pair of gloved fists. Even if they’re Manny Pacquiao’s fists. No matter which Manny Pacquiao shows up on June 9.

HBO Photographer Wins 'Barney's' Photo Award

Craig McEwan - Photo Credit: Will Hart

Will Hart's photograph of a post-knockout Craig McEwan lying on the canvas at Foxwoods Resort was deemed the top Feature Photo in the BWAA's "Barneys" awards. Hart, who has been behind the lens for the network for over 20 years, also took home the top Feature Photo prize in 2010, for an image of Juan Manuel Lopez.

For more of Hart's work, see the slideshow which includes his award-winning photo or visit his website. 

Five Things You Need to Know About Timothy Bradley

By Kieran Mulvaney

Timothy Bradley - Photo Credit: Will Hart

Boxing fans know well the kind of fighter Timothy Bradley is. They know the undefeated former 140-lbs champ has taken out a solid list of opponents, and that he is a legitimate and potentially dangerous foe for Manny Pacquiao on June 9. To the more casual observer of the sport, however, Bradley’s name is not well-known, if it is known at all; and so, for those who are looking to find out more about the Pacman’s latest opponent, here are five things you should know:

His nickname is 'Desert Storm'

Although he was not in the military, the moniker is part homage to the military ethic, as well as an acknowledgment of his origins. "I just wanted a name that would stick. I'm from the desert down here in Palm Springs [California] … I wasn't in the military, but mentally and the way I train, I train like I was in the military -- a lot of discipline."

He started boxing at age 10

"I was always fighting in the street, you know, fighting in school," he has said. A friend suggested he take up boxing, and Bradley pestered his dad to drive him to the local boxing gym. His father resisted, believing that his son wouldn't show the requisite degree of dedication, until he finally relented; subsequently, Bradley Sr. took over junior’s training throughout his amateur career.

He has been a professional for almost eight years

After approximately 150 amateur contests, including fights against the likes of Andre Ward and Andre Berto, he turned professional at age 20 with a second round knockout of Francisco Martinez.

He won his first world title the hard way – on foreign soil

On May 10, 2008, he went to Nottingham, England to take on local favorite Junior Witter for the WBC 140-lbs title. He was a 6-1 underdog, but knocked the champ down en route to winning a split decision. The following year, he recovered from two knockdowns of his own (the only times he has been on the canvas as a professional) to take the WBO belt from Kendall Holt.

He is a vegan. Sometimes

For three months leading up to a fight, Bradley adopts a vegan diet, an approach he first tried before the Witter bout. He told the Wall Street Journal in February that during that time, "My thoughts are clearer, crisp. I am sharp. Everything is working perfectly—I feel clean. It's a weird feeling, man. It's just a weird feeling."

Jim Lampley on 'The Fight Game'

When Jim Lampley was searching for inspiration for his new show, “The Fight Game with Jim Lampley”, which debuts on HBO at midnight ET on Saturday, he found it in what might at first blush be considered an unusual place.

“The guy who will sit in the studio and produce the show as I tape it is Bill Wolff, whose other gig is to produce Rachel Maddow’s nightly show on MSNBC,” Lampley revealed during a recent conversation. “And I chose him specifically because I admire the culture of that show, I admire the way they deliver information, I admire her way of building up evidence after evidence to support a point without having to say, ‘This is what you should believe,’ and that’s the kind of thing that I’ll be trying to do with ‘The Fight Game’.”

Read More at HBO.com.

The Perfect Plan, Perfectly Defeated

By Kieran Mulvaney

Floyd Mayweather - Photo Credit: Will Hart

The blueprint for how to defeat Floyd Mayweather was laid down by Jose Luis Castillo 10 years ago:

Back Floyd Mayweather to the ropes, and keep him pinned there as much as possible. Work to the body. Hit him anywhere you can, just keep hitting him, without winding up and over-committing. Keep him pinned, keep him pressured. Make him uncomfortable.

For the best part of eight rounds on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Miguel Cotto did just that. He tucked his chin, pumped his jab, and used his left hook to keep Mayweather in front of him. And when he had him where he wanted him, he threw combinations, digging to the body and not showing concern when the punches that were aimed for the head glanced off the shoulders of his defensively sublime opponent.

He kept trying, kept plugging away, and round by round, he seemed to be steadily making progress. He bloodied Mayweather’s nose, and in the eighth he launched a sustained assault that had the Puerto Rican crowd roaring. Mayweather was smiling and shaking his head, to indicate that the punches weren’t landing cleanly, but for the first time in a decade, Floyd Mayweather was in a fight.

Read more at HBO.com.