by Nick Giongco
The camp of Timothy Bradley feels a bit envious that nobody’s paying attention to see how things are going in their Palm Springs training camp.
But Joel Diaz, who trains Bradley, thinks it could work in their favor as they enter the homestretch of their training for the April 12 rematch with Manny Pacquiao.
“We don’t really feel the support. Everybody goes to the Wild Card to see Manny Pacquiao train, he’s in great shape, he’s in great preparation… but nobody comes around to Tim Bradley’s gym to see how he’s doing,” Diaz said during a teleconference call held yesterday.
Still, Diaz believes the fact they are not being exposed to the media would work wonders in the end.
“But in a way I like that because curiosity, it sometimes puts a little bit of fear. Nobody knows how Tim Bradley is training and he’s very ready to come to Vegas and ruin the party for a lot of people again.”
The Wild Card has been abuzz with activity ever since Pacquiao showed up for training early this month and even though Freddie Roach has isolated him from the eyes of just about very Tom, Dick and Harry, the Filipino icon continues to be besieged with interview requests and similar stuff.
Bradley, who was not given the recognition he deserved after beating Pacquiao on a split decision in June 2012, has vowed to prove to one and all that he is not a one-trick pony.
“I’ve got a lot to prove in this fight. I’ve gotta prove that the first fight wasn’t a fluke. There’s a lot of things that happened in the first fight that weren’t right. This time I’ll be 110 percent ready,” said Bradley.
“I’m a different fighter now, a different beast, a different animal and this time around I’m gonna prove it to the fans and everybody. The last time around I got the win but it felt like I lost because I didn’t get any credit from the fans and it’s very important to get the credit from the fans. I definitely gotta win by a wide margin.”
Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum just can’t wait until the two get it on at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
“This rematch is special because the previous fight ended in a decision win for Timothy Bradley and a lot of people thought the decision could have gone the other way,” said Arum.