LAS VEGAS — Emanuel Steward works for HBO when he isn’t training fighters, so he has an interest in enticing people to tune into Saturday night’s pay-per-view boxing card from the MGM Grand.
But it didn’t sound like a sales job when he said, “I see a big upset brewing” when challenger Timothy Bradley challenges Manny Pacquiao for his WBO welterweight championship (HBO PPV, main event approximately 11:30 p.m.).
“You have to learn the mental makeup of guys, and few people like Timothy Bradley exist,” Steward told The Post yesterday. “He’s the strongest guy mentally that Manny has ever fought. He’s also got speed, determination and intelligence.
“Going down the stretch where Manny has won a lot of his fights by closing the show by shooting twenty punches, this guy is going to shoot 30. Manny is going against more than he has prepared for, and that’s something they need to recognize. I don’t think they realize what they’re up against. I’ve known Timothy since he was 14. He’s nothing to play with, trust me.”
Bradley (28-0, 12 KOs) was oozing confidence during yesterday’s weigh-in, when he hit the scales at 146 pounds. Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KOs) came in at 147. Bradley, 28, tried to engage Pacquiao in an intense staredown, but Pacquiao, 33, only smiled because “I’m happy to be here and God is with me.”
There has been much discussion about Pacquiao’s religious transformation and forsaking of gambling and carousing for Bible study. But it hasn’t been without its own distractions. He made headlines when he was said he was against same-sex marriage and his following of Evangelical Christian teachings stirred questions about whether he has abandoned the Roman Catholic Church.
Whether any of that has any bearing on a prize fight won’t be known until they meet tonight in the Grand Garden Arena. Pacquiao is a 4-to-1 favorite, but Steward is far from the only one giving Bradley a chance to win the fight.
For starters, Bradley doesn’t know how to lose, he is supremely conditioned and is a tenacious if not powerful puncher. His basic plan is to figure out Pacquiao early and then overpower him in the later rounds.
“Pacquiao’s going to come out blazing fast,” Bradley said. “He’s going to try to get me into a shootout early. I see myself counter-punching, trying to make adjustments. It’s going to take me two rounds to figure him out. I’m just as quick as he is. I’m just as strong as he is. He hasn’t seen anything like me in a very, very long time.”
There has been talk of whether Pacquiao is taking Bradley lightly, but that seems unlikely, especially after the Filipino southpaw squeaked out an uninspiring majority decision over Juan Manuel Marquez in November.
“Bradley is a different type of fighter, and we don’t take this fight lightly,” Pacquiao said. “We have trained hard for Bradley because he is the type of fighter we cannot underestimate.”
Steward said this matchup reminds him of when Evander Holyfield was obsessed with fighting Mike Tyson and ultimately won a bout few believed he could.
“Even when I was training Evander for Riddick Bowe when he won back the title in the second fight, he was obsessed with fighting Mike,” Steward said. “He didn’t concentrate on Bowe as much as he wanted to fight Mike.”
Bradley admitted he has been studying Pacquiao for four years and plans to show no deference when they get into the ring.
“I don’t fear anybody,” he said. “I don’t fear Manny Pacquiao. I don’t have any respect for him right now. This is the biggest challenge of my life. But this is my moment to stardom, and I have to win this fight.”
PREDICTION
There has been plenty of late action on Bradley, but Pacquiao is still a devastating puncher and far better than anyone Bradley has faced. Let’s hope it’s not stopped on cuts.
Pacquiao by ninth-round TKO