Pacman hungry for success as he seeks Bradley vengeance

Sport360 staff 11:15 06/04/2014
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  • Hitting hard: Pacquaio is desperate to retain his WBO title that he lost at the hands of Bradley.

    Manny Pacuqiao has vowed to outbox Tim Bradley and prove he still has the desire to compete among boxing’s elite.

    The Filipino legend faces the American in a rematch next weekend having lost his WBO Welterweight title to Bradley following a highly-controversial split decision back in June 2012.

    Since then Pacquiao’s fortunes have fluctuated with that upset followed by another crushing loss when he was knocked out in six rounds by Juan Manuel Marquez before showing glimpses of the old magic to comfortably outpoint Brandon Rios in Macau last November.

    The 35-year-old held a press day yesterday as excitement builds ahead of Saturday’s bout in Las Vegas and Pacquiao was eager to stress he still has the hunger that got him to the top.

    “There is something different in this training camp,” explained Pacquiao, who will be bidding to recapture the WBO strap.

    “There are a lot of people who doubt I can fight the same way I fought when I knocked out Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera.

    “I want to prove to them that I am the best. I am inspired. I am the challenger. I know I will need to outbox and outspeed Bradley.

    “And that is what I will do. This is the first time I have challenged for a world title that I lost. Do I want it back? You bet I do; and I want it back from Tim Bradley."

    While admitting that predictions of his demise are motivating him, Pacquiao stridently dismissed any notion that he has been affected by self-doubt. He even went so far as to say he and trainer Freddie Roach never even talked about his decision defeat to Bradley because it was ridiculous.

    “We feel we got robbed in the last fight – now we need to be sure that we get the victory,” said the Filipino congressman. “That is boxing. It is part of the game and you cannot let yourself get too upset over it or else it willconsume you. Judges are human. You cannot expect them to be perfect. In the first fight against Tim Bradley, I was over it before I returned to the dressing room.

    “To Freddie Roach and me, and apparently everyone else who watched the fight – except for two – I won the fight.

    “The first thing I said to Freddie when we saw each other in the dressing after the fight was, ‘He [Bradley] ran just like we knew he would’. We never discussed or debated the decision because it was so obvious that I had won the fight and nearly every round.

    “It never felt like a loss to me and no one treated me any differently.

    “I was treated as the winner. I just moved forward and began training for my next fight, which was against Juan Manuel Márquez.”

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