by Ronnie Nathanielsz
WORLD Boxing Council president Don Jose Sulaiman has warned Manny Pacquiao about the style of undefeated light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, who challenges the pound-for-pound king for his World Boxing Organization welterweight title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on June 9.
BoxingScene.com/Manila Standard learned that Pacquiao will be guaranteed his biggest purse ever after his adviser Michael Koncz negotiated with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum. Koncz had specific instructions from Pacquiao, who received a guaranteed purse of $22 million for his last fight against Juan Manuel Marquez. Indications are that Pacquiao is likely to earn a guaranteed $25 for the Bradley fight.
Unlike Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach, who claimed that he was concerned about Bradley’s style, alleging that he resorts to dirty tactics, including the use of his head and elbows, Sulaiman merely spoke of Bradley’s assets as a fighter.
The WBC president said that although Bradley has been without a fight for a long time (seven months), he believes Bradley’s style “is going to be very tough for Manny.”
“Bradley is very fast, a good boxer and can take a punch,” said Sulaiman, who added that the undefeated boxer is actually a welterweight.
His manager Cameron Dunkin said Bradley has fought at 147 and performed impressively against undefeated Argentine welterweight Luis Carlos Abregu, winning a unanimous 12-round decision in California on July 17, 2010.
The scorecards of the three judges, who included the Philippines’ Jonathan Davis (116-112), Fritz Werner (118-110) and Barry Druxman (117-111), showed that Bradley won easily.
