Atlas: Pacquiao More Cautious; Still ‘Fast, Explosive, Powerful’

 By Keith Idec

When Teddy Atlas watches film of Manny Pacquiao’s recent fights, he mostly sees the same dangerous, explosive fighter he has always seen.

While Timothy Bradley’s trainer expects Bradley to box better in their third fight, Atlas doesn’t anticipate this 37-year-old version of the powerful Filipino southpaw to be any different from the opponent Bradley battled twice when they meet April 9 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (HBO Pay-Per-View).

“To me, there’s no dissipation as far as talent,” Atlas told BoxingScene.com. “I haven’t seen the talent dissipate. He’s still fast, he’s still explosive, he’s still powerful, he still punches well. He’s still got a lot of those quick-twitch fibers. … That’s not just in his hands, but in his feet. He’s dynamic. I haven’t seen any dissipation in that at all, to be honest with you.

“The only thing that may be different is that he may be more conservative – maybe. Maybe toned down to where it’s still the same level of ability, but maybe used more conservatively. He’s still above most other fighters’ work rates and punch numbers and everything else, but for himself, maybe just a little bit more thoughtful about what he’s doing.”

Atlas considers Pacquiao’s heightened caution to be a byproduct of Juan Manuel Marquez knocking Pacquiao unconscious in the sixth round of their fourth fight in December 2012.

“I think to a certain degree we’re all influenced by what happens to us,” Atlas said. “And I think that probably has been part of it. I don’t know that it’s a negative. It’s something that could even be a positive for him. The ability of what he does is still there – the quality, the level of it.”

The third bout between Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) and Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs, 1 NC), of Palm Springs, California, will be Pacquiao’s first fight in more than 11 months. He hasn’t fought since undergoing shoulder surgery in the immediate aftermath of his unanimous-decision defeat to Floyd Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26 KOs) on May 2 at MGM Grand.

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.