Pacquiao vs. Bradley: Desert Storm's Youth Will Be His Greatest Asset

Youth is a two-sided card for a boxer.

With less trauma to the head and an overall body that is in better physical condition, Timothy Bradley (28-0, 12 KOs) must really push the pace to tire Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2 38 KOs) in the later rounds.

The other side of the card is experience.

Pacquiao has stepped into the ring 31 more times than Bradley, which means he will not be the one to let nerves get the best of him. He’s been here before, he’s done HBO’s 24/7, and he’s used to being the main event. This is all new for Bradley, and you have to wonder if his confidence level is where it needs to be.

Judging from the progress of training, that shouldn’t be a problem. Boxing Scene caught up with Bradley’s trainer Joel Diaz last Saturday, and it sounds like nerves will not be an issue:

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Everything’s positive. I feel very positive, especially after closing camp (on Saturday). With his performance, I have no doubt and my confidence is really, really high. He closed camp really strong overall. Three different sparring guys. He closed the last round like it was the first.

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Watching him on HBO’s 24/7, you get the sense he isn’t afraid of the moment and is not going to pull a Victor Ortiz and start head-butting recklessly if the fight begins to get away from him.

Bradley is a counter-puncher that has shown the ability to take a huge power punch and shake it off quickly. This is good news against a knockout boxer like Pacquiao.

The key for Bradley is to survive the early onslaught and wear him down like Juan Manuel Marquez did back in November. Desert Storm is an incredible athlete that has the conditioning to really force the issue later in the fight. The longer he survives, the better chances he’ll have of wining the fight.

The only outcome we know for sure won’t be happening is a Bradley KO. Everything else is in play. While the judges may or may not be biased towards Pac-Man, Bradley can make the decision easy by staying aggressive and wearing down his opponent while not getting caught up in the magnitude of the situation.

Easier said than done, but Bradley’s undefeated record is no accident.  

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