Bradley ‘ready for anything’ in preparation for Pacquiao bout

Timothy Bradley watched the Lamont Peterson saga unfold and Peterson's fight with Amir Khan unravel, and it left him puzzled.

Bradley, who has a June 9 date with Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden, couldn't believe Peterson could be so careless and risk so much in the wake of his positive test in April for synthetic testosterone, a banned substance in Nevada. The flunked test caused the cancellation of Peterson's WBA and IBF junior welterweight title fight with Khan next Saturday at Mandalay Bay.

"I don't know if he had a legitimate medical problem or not," Bradley said from Palm Springs, Calif., where he continues to train for the Pacquiao fight. "If he did have low testosterone like they say, there were other things he could have used."

Bradley, who lives a vegan dietary lifestyle, said he tries to stay away from anything that remotely could trigger a positive drug test. What few supplements he uses he obtains through a company that insures its athletes up to $1 million should they flunk a drug test.

"I'm responsible for what I put in my body," he said. "I'm very careful about anything I use. If you buy something over the counter at the store, you don't know what you're getting."

So unless someone spikes Bradley's tofu, he's probably not flunking any random tests anytime soon. As for his training, Bradley said he's more concerned with his mental preparation for Pacquiao than his physical work as he gets ready for the biggest fight of his career.

"I think the key is staying focused for 12 rounds, keeping my head in it for each three minutes of each round," Bradley said. "You can't be lackadaisical against Manny Pacquiao, or he's going to make you pay."

The 28-year-old Bradley (28-0, 12 knockouts, one no-contest) is preparing to face a strong, high-volume puncher in the 33-year-old Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KOs).

"We're ready for anything," he said. "I respect Manny Pacquiao as a fighter and as a man. I expect his best effort."

Even the head games Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, might be employing. Last week, Roach told reporters that Bradley at 147 pounds is "slow as molasses" and he expects an early knockout by his fighter.

"Freddie Roach don't know what I do," Bradley said. "I'm at a completely different level now. I'm a lot faster and stronger, so if he thinks I'm slow as molasses, let him think that. I'll show everyone come June 9 how slow I am."

■ MAYWEATHER-COTTO NUMBERS - The WBA junior middleweight title fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Miguel Cotto on May 5 did big business at the box office and on pay per view.

The live gate at the MGM Grand Garden for the fight, which saw Mayweather win a 12-round unanimous decision and take Cotto's title, was $12,000,150, the ninth-biggest boxing gate in Nevada history. There were 14,612 tickets sold and 938 comps issued.

The HBO Pay Per View numbers saw 1.5 million buys worth $94 million. It was the second-highest grossing nonheavyweight PPV event in boxing history, with only Mayweather's 2007 win over Oscar De La Hoya surpassing it. That fight did 2.4 million buys and generated $137 million in revenue.

According to the Nevada Athletic Commission, both fighters passed their pre- and post-fight drug tests, as did Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Shane Mosley, who fought on the undercard. Alvarez retained his WBC junior middleweight belt by winning a 12-round unanimous decision.

■ TOP RANK SIGNEE - Super featherweight Toka Kahn-Clary has signed with Top Rank and will make his pro debut June 8 at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Kahn-Clary, who is from Providence, R.I., will fight a four-round bout against an opponent to be determined on the undercard of the Kelly Pavlik-Scott Sigmon fight, which will be televised by ESPN.

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