Analysis of Pacquiao-Bradley 3: Fight too close

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

After raking the hard earned seed monies (we Flips, er, Filipinos called it “capital”) of those Igorot vegetable and Pangasinan bangus or milkfish  wholesale traders when I bet for Floyd Mayweather the tuition fees of my children against their wagers for Manny Pacquiao, I should be turning 180- degree and predicts Pacquiao, the pet peeve of senatorial candidate Walden Bello, to pounce and trounce out American Tim Bradley in their rubber match this Sunday (Saturday in the U.S) especially after I saw the absence of a random drug testing for the duo.

PHOTO CREDIT. INQUIRER.NET

“This sonnafabich (Pacquiao) would become a whirling dervish without the drug testing on this fight,” I told my errand boy Procopio Matulis after I Google if the duo subjected them anew to The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) just like what they agreed on their 2014 
rematch.

CLICK HERE MY RADIO INTERVIEW ON PACQUIAO-BRADLEY 3

Then last night as I prepared myself to bed, I saw at You Tube the training of Bradley and his new trainer, the verbal showboat former trainer - turned boxing commentator Teddy Atlas that changed my prognosis that this fight could either go to Manny or Timothy.

New Trainer’s Innovation to Bradley

As you know folks, in the first 2012 controversial fight of the aging Filipino Superman but Senatorial Shoo-in (God Save Us!) versus Bradley, he should had won it because of his hand speed, and in the 2014 rematch, he nearly lose against the bobbling and weaving attack styles of the American in the first six rounds until Bradley had calf injury.

It happened after Tim outbalanced himself due to his propensity to throw a looping right power punches to Manny.

That injury snapped out from him his foot work that used to elude Pacquiao in hitting him.

In the fourth round of that clash, he even hit Pacqauio’s left face with a powerful right uppercut that lifted by a foot, son of a gun, the feet of Manny from the canvass.

But with Atlas innovation that was tested on Bradley knocking out the flabby and lethargic Brandon Rios (who struggled to reduce weight for the 147 pound’s Welterweight fight) at the ninth round in their November 2015 match (pssst Pacquaio only chalked up a unanimous decision on the Walking Punching Bag Rios in November 2013 at Macau, China and could not Knock him out (KO) ), and with Pacquiao fighting this time without folks from WADA, Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) just like in his Mayweather’s match, knocking on his house’s door to take a sample of his blood they call in the jargon "drug and hormone testing that will undergo isotope-ratio mass spectrometry to detect exogenous testosterone from outside the body”.

Bradley, as what we Pinoys call “may tama si Bradley dito!”.

Effect of the absence of Random Drug Testing

Can you still remember Juan Manuel Marquez knocking out cold on the floor Manny Pacquiao at the Six Round of their Fourth Fight?

That match had no random drug test by the alphabet soup I mentioned. They just subjected themselves for the standard urine testing done by the doctors at the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).

Because of that medical liberality of NSAC, strength and conditioning expert Mexican Angel "Memo" Heredia, a former FBI Anti Doping witness, outsmarted conditioning coach Alex Ariza by making Marquez bulked into an Incredible Hulk where his heavy punches jarred Manny  until he brought the reckless Filipino into an ambushed by hitting him at the chin by a straight power punch at the seventh round that caused his KO.

My  friend and beer mate the late boxing writer Hermie Rivera , whose writing style and semantics could turned HBO In - House scribe the late Bert Sugar green with envy, shouted after Pacquiao-Marquez rubbermatch in 2011 “I couldn’t believe Heredia was allowed to train Marquez. And I also couldn’t believe how big and how strong Marquez was on the day of the fight. Manny felt his punches right from the start and probably knew he was up against a souped-up fighter. Manny could’ve been badly hurt. My idea is to clamp down on steroid pushers and users. There’s no place for those guys in boxing. We want to eradicate the use of performance-enhancing drugs which may be almost undetectable today.”

Fight could go either to Pacquiao or Bradley

Without random drug testing especially on the part of Manny Pacquiao and with a new innovation dealt by Atlas to Bradley to outpoint the Filipino, whose last knocked out of his opponent was in Miguel Cotto in 2010, I could say this match could either go the other way around.

It could be the Pacquiao’s Way, the Bradley’s Way, the Super Highway (psst “Draw”), or what Pangasinan Congressman Conrad Estrella shouted to the sea of the hoi polloi at the Bong Bong Marcos for vice president rally “The Marcos Highway!”

Here’s what Atlas had done to Bradley to outsmart Manny by yours truly copying at You Tube what the trainer had said in toto:

1.      BALANCE AND MOVEMENT

In the past, Bradley often throws wide looping punches which threw him off balance. Although they looked powerful, they were essentially arm punches that were unable to transfer the energy from the point of his foot through the end of his fist.

Bradley’s excessive low bobbing and weaving also left him vulnerable. Watch how frequently these missed punches or low ducks leave Bradley open or stumbling.

2 PUNCHING FIRM OR COUNTER PUNCHING

By fixing Bradley’s balance and lateral movement, Atlas enabled Bradley to throw straighter, tighter punches on the move without compromising his position.

Watch how Bradley approaches his mid-range combination excessively from side angles against Rios.

3        JAB AND CONTROL OF THE OUTSIDE

The jab has no exception to Bradley’s punching form corrections, and it was particularly effective when combined with Bradley’s movement and new found discipline on the outside. Watch how Bradley’s old habits of standing right in front of an opponent made his long jab (meaning a jab returned low instead of high) easy to counter.

 (Bradley was nearly knocked out in 2014 by Diego Gabriel Chavez on this recklessness – Mortz C. Ortigoza)

Atlas emphasizes control of the outside, and Bradley does this by throwing his jab at full distance while side stepping, before stepping out and resetting.

4. INSIDE FIGHTING

Before, Bradley’s inside game consisted of severely ducking down and winging punches, often getting hit as often as he hit his opponent.

Atlas reminds Bradley how to position himself so that his opponent can hit him, but he can hit his opponent. Bradley executes this perfectly, and he does so against one of them best inside fighter in the sports today.

Those small but fruitful changes in Bradley’s style were not only due to improved form and technique, but improved tactical awareness. Bradley knows where to step backwards, forwards, or to the side and was able to control the fight at any range. These are the core principle of Ring Generalship.

Here’s what I suggest Pacquiao and Bradley should do to win.

PACQUIAO:

- Pacquiao gives emphasis on the upper cut every time they both mixed in a flurry of punches. Bradley loves to weave and bob.

- Unlike Floyd Mayweather who fought effectively Pacquiao with a long left jab to avoid being hit, the Filipino can time with a power punch Bradley who loves to stand in front of him.

- Counter the counter punch of Bradley, just like what Manny had done to Mayweather.

- Manny avoid Bradley looping counter punching right hand. He was using this technique all night at the rematch

 BRADLEY:

- Bradley should use frequently his left straight punch or left hook. Pacquiao has the tendency to leave open his right early period peasant- liked- face. “Hit it hard, baby!”

Emulate Mayweather accurate punching style where the American used his long left jabs in the distance and counter with his right punch every time the Filipino instinctively lunged with his right jabs followed by his face, just like before Marquez knocked him out, before he unleashed his right power punch.

- Don’t just throw the looping power right punch recklessly just like in the rematch in 2014 or in his other fights as he was just wasting his energy for them.

- Improve the weaving and bobbing as Manny hand speeds are still very fast. 

ABS-CBN TV interviews me on my post analysis of Manny Pacquiao's win against Tim Bradley on their rubber match or 3rd Fight.

(You can read my selected columns at http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and articles at Pangasinan News Aro. You can send comments too at totomortz@yahoo.com)