Bradley relishing shot at validation against Pacquiao

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - Timothy Bradley is so confident he will defeat Manny Pacquiao next week at the MGM Grand Garden that he already is promoting the rematch.

Those attending Bradley's media day workout Tuesday at Fortune Gym were handed faux press credentials announcing "Bradley-Pacquiao 2 - Nov. 10, 2012; Tickets on sale June 10." It's a cute promotion, but the reality is Bradley knows he's going to have to fight the best bout of his career to beat Pacquiao, an eight-time world champion whose WBO welterweight title will be at stake come June 9.

"I have to bring the pain in this fight," said Bradley, the WBO junior welterweight champion who has a rematch clause in his contract should he defeat Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 knockouts). "I'm prepared to do that. By the time we're done with training camp this week, I'll have sparred 160 rounds. That's a lot of rounds.

"But to beat someone like Pacquiao, you have to be prepared to outwork him and match his volume of punches. I have to do double or triple whatever he's doing. If he throws 10 punches, then I have to throw 20."

The 28-year-old Bradley (28-0, 12 KOs, one no contest) said he is prepared for Pacquiao's left-handed style.

"I'm much more comfortable now having fought a couple of southpaws already," Bradley said. "You rarely face southpaws, so it's something you have to adjust to. But it's no problem."

Bradley last fought on the undercard of the Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez trilogy Nov. 12 at the Grand Garden, stopping veteran Joel Casamayor in the eighth round. He got his chance to fight Pacquiao when deals couldn't be struck with either Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Miguel Cotto, and Pacquiao was not prepared to tangle with Marquez a fourth time.

Now that he has that opportunity, Bradley doesn't want to squander it.

"(If) I win this fight, it changes my entire life," he said. "It fulfills all my dreams, and it validates everything I've done in my career."

Bradley already has felt the residual impact of being part of a promotion with Pacquiao. He showed up Tuesday for his media day workout in a bus that had his picture plastered on its side. That was something new.

Over the weekend, Bradley was a topic of conversation during the TNT coverage of the NBA playoffs, with none other than Charles Barkley singing his praises. That hasn't happened in the past, either. TNT is owned by Time Warner, which owns HBO, which is televising Pacquiao-Bradley on pay per view, thus the cross-promotion.

"I didn't see it, but I heard about it," Bradley said of his name being mentioned during the NBA playoff telecast. "That's unreal. I mean, this is the NBA conference finals, and they're talking about me?"

As for the bus, Bradley said he had seen other fighters, particularly Pacquiao, have such a status symbol, and he had dreamed of one day doing likewise.

"The first time I saw it, it was like, 'Wow,' " Bradley said. "When I started boxing, I never imagined something like that happening. But as I moved up the ranks, I started to dream about that."

If he beats Pacquiao, he can dream even bigger. Bradley recently signed a deal with Nike, and while not as big as Pacquiao's multimillion-dollar contract, Bradley doesn't have to go to the mall to get his gear. His manager, Cameron Dunkin, believes Bradley could be wildly popular with Corporate America.

"He's a very likeable guy," Dunkin said. "He's got a great smile, a great personality, no tattoos, he stays out of trouble, and he's very articulate. He reminds me of Sugar Ray Leonard in terms of his marketing potential.

"But for all that to happen, he has to win this fight. He knows he has to perform, and he can't make any mistakes."

Bradley said he's ready to fight the perfect fight.

"Honestly, I don't think I could have trained any better or any harder," he said. "I've put in the work. I've run more, sparred more, and I feel great. Manny Pacquiao is a great fighter. Everyone knows that. But I want to show everyone that Timothy Bradley is a great fighter too, and this is my chance."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.