Roach: Atlas Will Ruin Bradley With Those Stories, Cause KO Loss

By Edward Chaykovsky

Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach is predicting a knockout victory when Manny Pacquiao steps in the ring with Timothy Bradley for a third time on April 9th from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Bradley won a controversial twelve round split decision when the boxers met for the first time in 2012. Pacquiao won the 2014 rematch, with a twelve round unanimous decision.

The third bout has a lot at stake with Pacquiao standing firm that he plans to retire after this fight.

Bradley will bring a new weapon to the ring - trainer Teddy Atlas.

Last September, Bradley parted ways with career-trainer Joel Diaz. Bradley had his first bout under Atlas two months later, and knocked out Brandon Rios at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Roach was unimpressed with Bradley's win, stating that Rios was out of shape and lacked motivation to win.

What really seems to annoy Roach is Atlas' unique method of motivating his fighters in the corner.  When Atlas wants his fighter to complete a certain task in the ring, the veteran trainer will usually come up with a catchy tale.

Roach feels confident that Atlas will be the root cause of Bradley's downfall in the fight. 

"I think Manny will knock him out. Teddy Atlas will ruin Timothy Bradley with his stories, because his stories have nothing to do with boxing. There’s no instruction of how to get better, all they heard in his last fight was that he was not scared of fire and that he trains in the heat. You can’t tell him that he needs to move his head more and jab more and be more efficient? I think Manny’s wish will come true," Roach told On The Ropes Boxing Radio.