by Ronnie Nathanielsz
WORLD Boxing Council president Don Jose Sulaiman has warned pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao not to take undefeated junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley lightly for their June 9 showdown at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“I hope that Manny does not fool around for his fight against Bradley. He is one of the boxers of today that I respect most.” Sulaiman told BoxingScene.com/Manila Standard. “Bradley can take a punch, he is fast and throws many combinations.”
Sulaiman noted that Bradley has never lost and met many good fighters, in addition to being at the very top of his game.
The WBC president cautioned Pacquiao, “better think seriously about this fight, especially since he (Pacquiao) did not look very well in his last two fights.”
Sulaiman was referring to Pacquiao’s showdown with Sugar Shane Mosley and his third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, which ended in a controversial majority decision for the Filipino champion.
It was clear to many observers and close friends of Pacquiao that he was distracted during training and had personal problems before the fight, which clearly bothered him no end.
But he has assured strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza that he is ready to go back to the old, hard-working grind and keep his focus for the Bradley fight.
