Leading up to the highly anticipated third pay-per-view encounter between elite prizefighters Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley Jr. set for Saturday, April 9 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, HBO Sports presents LEGACY ON THE LINE: FROM BRADLEY TO PACQUIAO. Chronicling the lessons and controversies Bradley has endured in his high-profile rivalry with the boxing legend from the Philippines, the special debuts SATURDAY, MARCH 26 (midnight-12:30 a.m. ET/PT), immediately following a previously announced “HBO World Championship Boxing®” doubleheader, and is narrated by Liev Schreiber.

Other HBO playdates: March 27 (11:15 a.m.), 28 (11:30 a.m., 5:30 a.m.), 30 (6:00 p.m.) and 31 (1:30 p.m.), and April 4 (3:35 p.m.) 6 (11:00 a.m., 11:30 p.m.), 8 (7:15 p.m., 2:00 a.m.) and 9 (5:00 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: March 29 (9:45 p.m.) and 31 (2:00 p.m.), and April 1 (5:00 p.m., 1:45 a.m.), 2 (1:45 p.m.), 5 (10:30 a.m.), 8 (11:45 p.m.) and 9 (10:30 a.m.)

The show will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO® and HBO On Demand®.

After two matchups with future Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs), welterweight star Timothy Bradley Jr. (33-1-1, 13 KOs) is in pursuit of a legacy. The Palms Springs, Cal., resident experienced frustration and criticism when he scored a controversial split decision win in their first encounter and lost the rematch two years later via unanimous decision, his only loss in 35 professional bouts.
Interviews for LEGACY ON THE LINE: FROM BRADLEY TO PACQUIAO include Timothy Bradley Jr.; Monica Bradley, his wife and business manager; father Ray Bradley; and trainer Teddy Atlas, who has added a new dimension to Bradley’s fighting style.
Widely recognized for its engaging storytelling presentations, HBO Sports has won ten George F. Peabody Awards for production excellence,
For more information, visit www.hbo.com/boxing; become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HBOBoxing and follow on Twitter and Instagram at @HBOBoxing. Follow the conversation using the hashtag #PacBradley.
Pacquiao vs. Bradley takes place Saturday, April 9 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/ 6:00 p.m. PT.

LOS ANGELES (March 11, 2016) — Fighter of the Decade MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO and his Hall of Fame Trainer World-Famous FREDDIE ROACH will soon break camp in General Santos City in the Philippines and head to the U.S. On Monday, at Roach’s Hollywood-based Wild Card Boxing Club, they will begin phase two of training for their sole mission — demolishing two-division world champion TIMOTHY “Desert Storm” BRADLEY JR. Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) and Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs) are 29 days away from their date with destiny — their 12-round welterweight battle for pound for pound supremacy.

Team Pacquiao is scheduled to land at Los Angeles International Airport’s Tom Bradley International Terminal Tomorrow! Saturday, March 12, at 5:40 p.m. PT via Philippine Airlines Flight 102. This link will give you updated arrival information. http://www.philippineairlines.com/ (click Flight Status – the blue bar located on the right)

“We had a strong camp in the Philippines and Manny, as usual, is way ahead of schedule in his conditioning, and very motivated,” said Roach. “The real business begins for us on Monday at Wild Card. We have great sparring waiting for Manny. I know that ESPN announcer [Teddy Atlas] who is coaching Bradley is a good story teller and likes acting. Let’s see how well they do when we go off script and hit them with a dose of reality TV. Playing ‘fireman’ isn’t going to protect them from the nuclear assault Manny will be launching.”

This fight will also mark the first time Roach and Atlas have ever faced each other from opposite corners — an amazing fact considering they have a combined 70 years of training experience between them and scores of world champions to their credit. Think their isn’t a little competition between them? Take a look at this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un4lLzHnLUE&feature=youtu.be

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Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with MP Promotions, the Manny Pacquiao – Tim Bradley championship event will take place on Saturday, April 9, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT.

The NoTrump pay-per-view undercard will feature World Boxing Organization (WBO) super middleweight world champion “King” ARTHUR ABRAHAM defending his title against undefeated No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger GILBERTO “Zurdo” RAMIREZ, undefeated No. 1 WBO featherweight contender and two-time Mexican Olympian ÓSCAR VALDEZ defending his NABO featherweight title against former International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight world champion EVGENY GRADOVICH and 2012 U.S. Olympian JOSE RAMÍREZ defending his World Boxing Council (WBC) Continental Americas super lightweight title against MANNY PEREZ. The Abraham vs. Ramirez world championship fight is co-promoted by Sauerland Event and Zapari Boxing Promotions.

Remaining Tickets to Pacquiao vs. Bradley are priced at $1,204, $804, $604, $404, $254 and $154, not including applicable service fees. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets will also be available for purchase at mgmgrand.com or ticketmaster.com.

For fight updates go to toprank.com, hbo.com/boxing or mgmgrand.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/trboxing,, facebook.com/trboxeo or facebook.com/hboboxing, and on Twitter at twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, or twitter.com/hboboxing. Use the Hashtags #PacBradley to join the conversation on Twitter.

By Bart Barry

Wednesday HBO released a statement about Manny Pacquiao’s weeks-old statement about the prizefighter’s interpretation of the Bible’s anticipation of the current LGBTQ platform. There is rarely a reason to interrogate press releases from cable networks, but this one seemed portentous: One opened the email thinking HBO, in an incredible expression of solidarity with oppressed persons everywhere, had announced its refusal to condone Pacquiao’s hate speech by cancelling its distribution of the Filipino’s match with Timothy Bradley in April.

Well, no, actually – of course not. Instead, in a manifestation of what groupthink imbecility corporations reduce themselves to whenever trying to accomplish anything different from revenue (like moral judgements), the network decided to condemn Pacquiao’s sincerely held, sincerely stated and sincerely reiterated beliefs by implying, in the insincerest way possible, the network’s endorsement of Pacquiao would continue unabated because of its “obligation to both fighters” – only a network far less scrupulous than HBO, in other words, might punish Bradley for Pacquiao’s ignorance.

But why bother? why now? what could this accomplish? Answer: To illustrate tidily how Donald Trump is, in March, nearer to becoming our 45th President in November than any contemplative person in January imagined he would be.

It’s the insincerity of the HBO statement that rankles, and since HBO is a media company, it should be instructive for us, the large percentage of the country that cannot grasp whence Donald Trump’s popularity derives, to contrast the event of HBO’s statement with the event of Trump’s ascent. Trump embellishes most everything, exaggerates his own record, obfuscates, and often says things he knows are not true, but he never appears insincere. His appeal is his sincerity – his zealous belief in his own greatness; anything might be said in service to it – and his supporters are not the idiots we think they are.

For a few presidential cycles now, the dog-whistle metaphor has been fashionable, likening the insincere and euphemistic bits politicians say to a sound humans cannot hear but puppies can. Probably this sort of analogy first achieved acclaim with Ronald Reagan’s laudable/infamous (depending on one’s region and political bent) States’ Rights speech in Mississippi 36 years ago, a speech that winked at Southern segregationists while giving its speaker all sorts of deniability.

If employing rhetorical irony is saying something that means more than merely the denotative sum of its words, being cynical often is saying something that means nearly the opposite of its literal contents – “all natural ingredients” for instance – and cynicism is inferring from another’s rhetoric its opposite. While the crafters of dog-whistle statements would defend them as irony, Shakespeare’s own mechanics, they rely on the cynicism of their audiences, which in its own tawdry way attributes more talent and imagination to these audiences’ members than outsiders generally do.

What Trump practices is not dog-whistle so much as dog-tail; in all of nature, there are few things as decisively honest as a dog’s tail. A dog does not wag its tail ironically, a dog does not eat food it dislikes then whip its tail sarcastically about, a dog may misunderstand, and a dog may stand bemused by human indecision, but a dog’s tail ever tells the truth. What Trump’s supporters watch is his tail; when he is speaking in circles, when he is contradicting himself, when he is insulting his opponents, when he is effusively praising himself, his supporters ask only one question: Does he believe this? Their support for him as a candidate, not his platform or ideas that are alternately threadbare and frightening and frighteningly threadbare, are proportionate to how enthusiastically his supporters see his tail wagging and subsequently how enthusiastically their own tails wag back.

Well what have we here? This column has now done the unthinkable, likening humans to animals, the sort of ruse that got the congressman from Sarangani Province summarily scolded by blogs across the fruited plane, disowned by an apparel manufacturer notorious for its international labor practices, and called “insensitive, offensive and deplorable” by HBO.

Really, you say, your own tail beginning to stir, a broadcaster stated something that honestly about one of its assets?

Well, no, actually – of course not. Manny is none of these things to HBO on the eve of a broadcasting event with revenue expectations in the millions of dollars; his “recent comments”, you see, those are the insensitive and offensive and deplorable things, not the beloved lad nicknamed Pacman who once eradicated world poverty with yellow gloves (to pick the one ludicrous Pacquiao prefight storyline for which HBO is not responsible).

Saturday after results from the Republican primaries came in, Trump opened the floor to media inquiries by saying, “I would love to take a couple questions from these dishonest people.” It’s no wonder his supporters howled and cheered; much as members of the media may hold them in contempt, much as they may coin ironical terms like “low information” and “poorly educated” as descriptors, Trump supporters hate members of the media all the more, and their surging hatred now sloshes over every abstract and arbitrary barrier, from decency to integrity to education to partisanship.

Trump’s contempt is genuine; he considers his opponents beneath him, and he hates the dishonesty of an electoral/press cycle in which the candidates who purchase the most advertising traditionally receive the most coverage from a media that calls itself independent, unbiased, objective, and fair and balanced. The sole way to disabuse Trump’s supporters of their fervor is to prove in some playful and offhanded manner their man is inauthentic.

That feat, though, would require both authentic spokesmen and media outlets capable of recognizing and disseminating authentic commentary.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

“Next month Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley Jr. are scheduled to meet in a Pay-Per-View bout. We have an obligation to both fighters and, therefore, will proceed to produce and distribute that event. However, we felt it important to leave no uncertainty about our position on Mr. Pacquiao’s recent comments toward the LGBTQ community. We consider them insensitive, offensive and deplorable. HBO has been a proud home to many LGBTQ stories and couldn’t approach this event without clearly voicing our opinion.”

LAS VEGAS, NV. (February 8, 2016) — They have vastly different backgrounds yet they have two things in common — they will be in title fights on the same April 9 pay-per-view card, and they picked the Denver Broncos to win Super Bowl 50.

Fighter of the Decade MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO, seven-time Trainer of the Year World-Famous FREDDIE ROACH, World Boxing Organization (WBO) super middleweight world champion “King” ARTHUR ABRAHAM, former International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight world champion EVGENY GRADOVICH and dangerous veteran MANNY PEREZ participated in a Super Bowl 50 boxing celebrity poll last week and all of the above nailed it. They correctly predicted that the Broncos would beat the odds and emerge victorious. Who says experience isn’t the best teacher?

Pacquiao (@MannyPacquiaoTR), who will face five-time world champion TIMOTHY “Desert Storm” BRADLEY JR in the world welterweight championship main event, Tweeted this out today: “After leading the Broncos to their Super Bowl 50 victory, I’m changing my name to Manning Pacquiao. Peyton Manning is an inspiration.”

Roach (@FreddieRoach), Pacquiao’s Hall of Fame trainer Tweeted out: “If Teddy [Atlas] thinks Super Bowl 50 was Cam Newton’s time, he’d better get a new watch. Manny Pacquiao will clean Tim Bradley’s clock on April 9.”

Abraham, who will be defending his world title against undefeated WBO No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger GILBERTO “Zurdo” RAMIREZ, had this to say today from Germany: “I feel like Nostradamus. Get ready for my next prophecy to come true — on April 9, I will beat Ramirez decisively and remain world champion. Ramirez is young, like Cam Newton. I will teach him that experience and an explosive defense wins championships.”

Here are their original predictions and the predictions of their opponents:

MANNY PACQUIAO
“Peyton Manning is a great competitor and with the possibility that this could be his last game I think he will be an inspiration to the Broncos to win and to end Peyton’s career as a world champion. He is certainly an inspiration to me.”

TIM BRADLEY
“It’s very clear to me — Carolina Panthers 31-27.”

FREDDIE ROACH
“I’m going with the Broncos because Peyton Manning, like Manny Pacquiao, has racked up all the records and the victories against superior opposition. Champions like Manning and Pacquiao know only one way to go out in their last rodeo and that’s on top. It’s Manningfest Destiny.”

TEDDY ATLAS (Bradley’s trainer)
“It is Cam Newton’s time as I believe it is Tim Bradley’s and that is why Newton will win a Super Bowl and Bradley, a super championship, while Peyton Manning and Manny Pacquiao both retire after great careers.”

ARTHUR ABRAHAM
“I like the Denver Broncos‘ chances to win Super Bowl 50, I like them a lot! Peyton Manning is one of the all-time greats, the oldest quarterback to lead a team to a Super Bowl berth. With his experience in clutch-time situations, he cannot be denied winning his second championship ring. In addition, the Broncos have had THE best defense all season long, knowing how to penetrate the opposing team for errors. That could be compared to my style of boxing. And nine out of 10 times, a good defense beats a good offense in championships. Watch the Broncos prevail 24 – 17 against Cam Newton’s Panthers.”

GILBERTO RAMIREZ
“The Panthers have an explosive offense and a very strong defense. Carolina 28 to 21.”

MANNY PEREZ
“No. 1 Defense vs. No. 1 Offense. Defense wins games. Denver Broncos 24 to 10.”

JOSE RAMÍREZ (WBC Continental Americas super lightweight champion)
“Panthers because of their momentum. Their confidence as a team and their Quarterback, “Super” Cam Newton, started strong during the season and seem to get stronger. Final score will be Carolina 24-17.”

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Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs), of General Santos City, Philippines, boxing’s only eight-division world champion and a two-term Congressman, representing the Sarangani province, collides with two-division world champion Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs), of Palm Springs, Calif., in a 12-round world welterweight championship battle. Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with MP Promotions, Pacquiao vs. Bradley will take place Saturday, April, 9, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. It will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT. The Abraham vs. Ramirez world championship fight will be co-promoted by Sauerland Event and Zapari Boxing Promotions.

The pay-per-view undercard will feature the following title fights:

Gilberto Ramirez (33-0, 24 KOs), from Mazatlan, Mexico, No. 1 super middleweight contender with the matinee idol looks, will get his first world title shot when he challenges two-division world champion Abraham (44-4, 29 KOs), of Berlin Germany. Valdez (19-0, 16 KOs), of Nogales, Mexico, a two-time Mexican Olympian and the WBO’s No. 1 featherweight contender, will defend his NABO featherweight title against former world featherweight champion Gradovich (21-1-1, 9 KOs), a Russian native who lives in Oxnard, Calif. Jose Ramírez (16-0, 12 KOs), of Avenal, Calif., a 2012 U.S. Olympian, will defend his World Boxing Council (WBC) Continental Americas super lightweight title against Perez (25-11-1, 6 KOs), of Denver, CO, a former WBC Continental Americas champion.

Remaining Tickets to the Pacquiao vs. Bradley world championship event are priced at $1,204, $804, $604, $404, $254 and $154, not including applicable service fees. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets are also be available for purchase at mgmgrand.com or ticketmaster.com.

For fight updates go to toprank.com, hbo.com/boxing or mgmgrand.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/trboxing,, facebook.com/trboxeo or facebook.com/hboboxing, and on Twitter at twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, or twitter.com/hboboxing. Use the Hashtag

LAS VEGAS, NV (February 3, 2016) — Before they enter the ring for their super brawls, World Boxing Organization (WBO) super middleweight world champion ARTHUR ABRAHAM, undefeated contenders GILBERTO “Zurdo” RAMIREZ, ÓSCAR VALDEZ and JOSE RAMÍREZ, former world champion EVGENY GRADOVICH, and dangerous veteran MANNY PEREZ took time out to make predictions on Super Bowl 50, which will pit the Denver Broncos against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, February 7. The six fighters will be featured in title fights on the Manny Pacquiao – Timothy Bradley world welterweight championship pay-per-view undercard, Saturday, April 9, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with MP Promotions, the Pacquiao vs. Bradley world championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT. Abraham vs. Gilberto Ramirez will be co-promoted by Sauerland Event and Zapari Boxing Promotions.

THE PREDICTIONS

ARTHUR ABRAHAM
“I like the Denver Broncos‘ chances to win Super Bowl 50, I like them a lot! Peyton Manning is one of the all-time greats, the oldest quarterback to lead a team to a Super Bowl berth. With his experience in clutch-time situations, he cannot be denied winning his third championship ring. I n addition, the Broncos have had THE best defense all season long, knowing how to penetrate the opposing team for errors. That could be compared to my style of boxing. And nine out of 10 times, a good defense beats a good offense in championships. Watch the Broncos prevail 24 – 17 against Cam Newton’s Panthers.”

GILBERTO RAMIREZ
“The Panthers have an explosive offense and a very strong defense. Carolina 28 to 21.”

ÓSCAR VALDEZ
“Panthers 30-10 because Denver beat my favorite team, the New England Patriots.”

EVGENY GRADOVICH
“It’s all about the defense as Carolina will quickly find out. Denver Broncos 28-21”

JOSE RAMÍREZ
“Panthers because of their momentum. Their confidence as a team and their Quarterback, “Super” Cam Newton, started strong during the season and seem to get stronger. Final score will be Carolina 24-17″.

MANNY PEREZ
“No. 1 Defense vs. No. 1 Offense. Defense wins games. Denver Broncos 24 to 10.”

Gilberto Ramirez (33-0, 24 KOs), from Mazatlan, Mexico, the WBO No. 1 super middleweight contender and mandatory challenger, will get his first world title shot when he challenges two-division world champion Abraham (44-4, 29 KOs), of Berlin Germany. Valdez (19-0, 16 KOs), of Nogales, Mexico, the WBO’s No. 1 featherweight contender, will defend his NABO featherweight title against former International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight champion Gradovich (21-1-1, 9 KOs), a Russian native who lives in Oxnard, Calif. Jose Ramírez (16-0, 12 KOs), of Avenal, Calif., and a 2012 U.S. Olympian, will defend his World Boxing Council (WBC) Continental America super lightweight title against Perez (25-11-1, 6 KOs), of Denver, CO.

These six warriors boast a combined record of 158-16-2 (96 KOs) — a winning percentage of 90% — with a victory by knockout ratio of 61%.

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Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs), of General Santos City, Philippines, boxing’s only eight-division world champion and the reigning Fighter of the Decade, collides with five-time world champion Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs), of Palm Springs, Calif., in a 12-round world welterweight championship battle.

Remaining Tickets to Pacquiao vs. Bradley world championship event are priced at $1,204, $804, $604, $404, $254 and $154, not including applicable service fees. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets are also be available for purchase at mgmgrand.com or ticketmaster.com.

For fight updates go to toprank.com, hbo.com/boxing or mgmgrand.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/trboxing,, facebook.com/trboxeo or facebook.com/hboboxing, and on Twitter at twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, or twitter.com/hboboxing. Use the Hashtags #PacBradley to join the conversation on Twitter.

GOBBLER’S KNOB, (Groundhog Day 2016) — At approximately 7:25 A.M. ET today, Punxsutawney Phil — the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of Prognosticators — emerged from his burrow at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, PA — wearing a Denver Broncos jersey embroidered with “Manningfest Destiny” — and proclaimed, in his native Groundhogese, that five-time world champion TIMOTHY “Desert Storm” BRADLEY would prevail in the rubber match of the world welterweight championship trilogy with Fighter of the Decade MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO on Saturday, April 9, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas., NV. Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with MP Promotions, the world welterweight championship three-match between pound-for-pound titans Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs), of General Santos City, Philippines, boxing’s only eight-division world champion, and Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs), of Palm Springs, Calif., who has held a world title every year since 2008, will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT.

“I caucused long and hard over this. Because both fighters are equally great, I had to break the deadlock on predicting the winner by flipping a coin,” said the world’s No. 1 pound for pound quadruped as he shadowboxed during his annual news conference.. “Both fighters are going to go at each other with guns blazing. It’s going to be a firefight, and since Bradley and his trainer Teddy Atlas are firemen, you have to give them the nod. I also predict that Bradley will spring into an early lead for 2016 Fighter of the Year.”

When pressed for a definitive answer on whether Pacquiao had a chance to defeat Bradley, Phil astounded the media by answering in Tagalog and in English.

Quoth the groundhog, “Hinding-hindi na. Nevermore.”

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Remaining Tickets to Pacquiao vs. Bradley world championship event are priced at $1,204, $804, $604, $404, $254 and $154, not including applicable service fees. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets are also be available for purchase at mgmgrand.com or ticketmaster.com.

For fight updates go to www.toprank.com, www.hbo.com/boxing or www.mgmgrand.com on Facebook at facebook.com/trboxing, facebook.com/trboxeo or facebook.com/hboboxing, and on Twitter at twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, or twitter.com/hboboxing. Use the Hashtag #PacBradley to join the conversation on Twitter.

LAS VEGAS, NV (January 28, 2016) — Before they enter the ring for their super brawls, MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO, TIMOTHY “Desert Storm” BRADLEY JR., TERENCE “Bud” CRAWFORD and FELIX “El Diamante” VERDEJO, who are headlining upcoming world championship events, took time out to make predictions on Super Bowl 50, which will pit the Denver Broncos against the Carolina Panthers on February 7. Also adding their two cents were trainers World-Famous FREDDIE ROACH and TEDDY ATLAS, who will be facing each other from opposing corners for the first time, with Pacquiao and Bradley, respectively, Top-10 contender “Hammerin'” HANK LUNDY and undefeated Brazilian buzz saw WILLIAM “Baby Face” SILVA, the respective opponents of Crawford and Verdejo.

THE PREDICTIONS

MANNY PACQUIAO
“Peyton Manning is a great competitor and with the possibility that this could be his last game I think he will be an inspiration to the Broncos to win and to end Peyton’s career as a world champion. He is certainly an inspiration to me.”

TIM BRADLEY
“It’s very clear to me — Carolina Panthers 31-27.”

FREDDIE ROACH
“I’m going with the Broncos because Peyton Manning, like Manny Pacquiao, has racked up all the records and the victories against superior opposition. Champions like Manning and Pacquiao know only one way to go out in their last rodeo and that’s on top. It’s Manningfest Destiny.”

TEDDY ATLAS
“It is Cam Newton’s time as I believe it is Tim Bradley’s and that is why Newton will win a Super Bowl and Bradley, a super championship, while Peyton Manning and Manny Pacquiao both retire after great careers.”

TERENCE CRAWFORD
“I don’t know what the score will be but the Carolina Panthers are the better team. One big reason is that they have Cam Newton as quarterback.”

HANK LUNDY
“I’m not really into it that much because I’ve got my own Super Bowl to worry about on February 27th and I’m coming to win the championship. I like Peyton Manning a lot, but I think Cam Newton is going to take care of business. Panthers 21-14.”

FELIX VERDEJO
“I’m going to pick the Carolina Panthers to win the Super Bowl this year. They are the better team”

WILLIAM SILVA
“I’m from Brasil so I do not get to see a lot of American football, but I think the Panthers will be the better team on Super Bowl day based upon their performances in past games. As far as the score, I think it will be the Panthers with three touchdowns to the Broncos’ one touchdown.”

********************

Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs), of General Santos City, Philippines, boxing’s only eight-division world champion and the reigning Fighter of the Decade, collides with five-time world champion Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs), of Palm Springs, Calif., in a 12-round world welterweight championship battle. Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with MP Promotions, Pacquiao vs. Bradley will take place Saturday, April, 9, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. It will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT.

Crawford (27-0, 19 KOs), of Omaha, the 2014 Fighter of the Year and a two-division world champion, will be defending his World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior welterweight world title against Top-10 contender Lundy (26-5-1, 13 KOs), of Philadelphia, PA. Verdejo (19-0, 14 KOs), of San Juan, Puerto Rico, will be risking his WBO Latino lightweight title, Top-Five world ranking and his impending world title shot when he takes on Silva (23-0, 14 KOs), of São Paulo, Brasil, in a battle of undefeated contenders. Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Tecate, Classic Entertainment & Sports (CES), Diamante Promotions and Madison Square Garden, the Crawford/Verdejo championship doubleheader will take place on Saturday, February 27, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Both fights will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing® beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

For fight updates go to toprank.com, hbo.com/boxing or mgmgrand.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/trboxing,, facebook.com/trboxeo or facebook.com/hboboxing, and on Twitter at twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, or twitter.com/hboboxing. Use the Hashtags #PacBradley, #CrawfordLundy or #VerdejoSilva to join the conversation on Twitter.

By Norm Frauenheim-

There is no good way to say goodbye to boxing. Manny Pacquiao is trying to. At campaign stops in New York and Los Angeles this week, he said repeatedly that his fight with Timothy Bradley on April 9 would be his last.

In a political season full of Trump, Palin, Cruz and Hillary, however, few believe the soft-spoken Filipino Congressman, who also happens to be running for one of 24 seats in his country’s Senate. His promoter, Bob Arum, doesn’t. His trainer, Freddie Roach, doesn’t. His Filipino constituency doesn’t want

The prevailing skepticism is rooted in precedent. Boxers come back as often as politicians break promises. In Bill Dwyre’s ongoing series for Top Rank on the second Pacquiao-Bradley rematch, the retired Los Angeles Times sport editor quotes Arum on just the latest example.

Brandon Rios retired at a news conference in the immediate aftermath of his one-sided loss to Bradley last November. Arum immediately applauded his announcement.

“Half-an-hour later,’’ Arum said, Rios “unretired.’’

The entertaining anecdote is as true a guide as any on what to expect — or not expect — from Pacquiao or anybody else in a business where scar tissue is the only sure thing.

But it’s an awkward way to sell a fight.

The guess here is that Pacquiao believes what he is saying, just as surely as Rios did with a decision that sounded heartfelt at the time. But there are all kinds of reasons and scenarios that could change Pacquiao’s mind.

To wit:

§ If he wins, he has a title to defend and chance at more money to finance further campaigns.

§ If he loses, his reputation is at stake. Careers end in defeat all the time. But a loss might be tougher for a politician whose clout with the voters is built on how he won them over. His political career was launched by what he did within the ropes. A pound-for-pound ranking was the only poll he ever needed. The ring was his bully pulpit.

Either scenario comes with reasons to think his career continues beyond his third fight with Bradley at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

Meanwhile, Arum is confronted with the tough task of selling a bout that Pacquiao calls his farewell-fight, which is an oxymoron, if there ever was one. You fight to stick around. Throwing in the towel is one way of saying farewell.

A lot of fans feel as if they said farewell to Pacquiao, the fighter, on that December night in 2012 when he landed on the canvas, face-first, from a right hand delivered by Juan Manuel Marquez.

That might have been as good a time as any to say goodbye, except for that opportunity at a huge payday against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Good business sense dictated he continue, despite pressure to quit from family and friends.

Pacquiao stuck around, collecting what was reported to be between $160 and $180 million. It was worth it. It made him a very rich man. But it looks as if the May loss to Mayweather was just one more bout in the inevitable decline of a fighter in his mid-to-late 30s. He’s back now. He says he has recovered from surgery to the right-shoulder, which he said was injured in training, yet wasn’t disclosed until after the dull, controversial loss to Mayweather.

Then, there’s Mayweather, of course. He says he’s retired. But nobody believes him, either. The prevailing speculation since Mayweather’s promised career-ender –a September victory over Andre Berto — is that he’ll be back.

As different as they are, it turns out that Pacquiao and Mayweather have one thing in common. In a business with no term limits, it’s hard to say so long.

LAS VEGAS, NV (January 19, 2016) — Boxing’s only eight-division world champion and the reigning Fighter of the Decade, Congressman MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO, and five-time world champion TIMOTHY “Desert Storm” BRADLEY, will collide in a 12-round World Welterweight Championship battle of pound for pound titans, Saturday, April 9, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. This will also mark the first time former Trainers of the Year Freddie Roach and Teddy Atlas have faced each other from opposite corners. Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with MP Promotions, the Pacquiao vs. Bradley world championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT.

Tickets to Pacquiao vs. Bradley, priced at $1,204, $804, $604, $404, $254,and $154, not including applicable service fees, go on sale This Friday! January 22, at 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets will also be available for purchase at mgmgrand.com or ticketmaster.com.

“I look forward to my battle with Timothy Bradley on April 9 and giving boxing fans a fight they will always remember,” said Pacquiao. “This fight has a very special meaning to me and I will pour every ounce of my being — physically, emotionally and spiritually — into preparing for Bradley. He has my full attention. I dedicate this fight to my fans and to my countrymen throughout the world who have kept me in their prayers. And as always, I fight to bring glory to the Philippines.”

“I’ve never needed to light a fire under Manny to get him ready for a fight. He’s a professional,” said Roach. “April 9 will be Manny’s finest hour.”

“I have always dedicated myself to who I am on fight night. However on April 9th I will not only have dedicated myself to that but also delivering the performance that everyone has long awaited,” said Bradley.

“The greatest responsibility we have is to care for our families. But our greatest privilege is to be given a challenge to achieve something special that our families can share and always remember. Fighting Pacquiao is exactly that challenge,” said Atlas.

“I am looking forward to this fight between Manny Pacquiao and Tim Bradley. We will see how much Manny has recovered from shoulder surgery and whether he has been able to retain all of his power. We saw in Tim’s last fight a new, improved Tim Bradley thanks and largely due to his astute trainer Teddy Atlas. One thing is for sure, this fight will be vastly different from the first two these two warriors have had,” said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank.

“Manny Pacquiao has had an electrifying career and is destined to be enshrined in the Boxing Hall of Fame. Fight fans worldwide are attracted to his spirited fighting style and the grace and humility he displays outside the ring. He is one of the sport’s giants,” said Peter Nelson, Executive Vice President, HBO Sports. “Timothy Bradley Jr. has consistently beaten the odds and produced a brilliant career that has but a single blemish on it. Now on April 9, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Bradley gets to try and avenge the one loss on his record.”

Richard Sturm, president of Sports and Entertainment for MGM Resorts International, said, “We are thrilled to host the third fight in what has become a fantastic rivalry between two extremely talented fighters at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in April. There is no doubt both Pacquiao and Bradley will arrive to Las Vegas ready to face-off in an incredible showdown, providing boxing fans worldwide a conclusion to this storied trilogy.”

Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs), the lone congressional representative from the Sarangani province in the Philippines and an international icon, is the only fighter to win eight world titles in as many different weight divisions. A three-time Fighter of the Year and the Boxing Writers Association of America’s “Fighter of the Decade,” Pacquiao’s resumé features victories over present and future Hall of Famers, including Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Márquez and Bradley. From 2008 to 2010, five of his seven victories were world title victories in five different weight classes, from 130 to 154 pounds. No active boxer has sold more live tickets in the U.S. than Pacquiao, who is also credited with over 18 million domestic pay-per-view buys. He returns to the ring after a disappointing unanimous decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. The May 2 world championship fight generated a record 4.5 million pay-per-view buys and over $400 million in television revenue alone.

Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs), from Palm Springs, Calif., a two-division world champion who has held a world title every year since 2008, completed his comeback from his sole professional loss, to Pacquiao in their world title rematch, and a controversial draw against former interim world champion Diego Chaves — both in 2014 — when he beat undefeated world champion Jessie Vargas on June 27, to reclaim the WBO welterweight world title. Bradley put an exclamation point on his banner 2015 year in his title defense, under the guidance of new trainer Teddy Atlas, by knocking out former world champion Brandon Rios on November 7. It was the first time Rios had ever been stopped in his 11-year, 36-bout professional career, sending him into a temporary self-imposed retirement. A consensus Top-10 pound for pound fighter, Bradley returns to the ring a new fighter thanks to Atlas’ tutelage. A former junior welterweight world champion who unified the junior welterweight titles twice during his previous four-year world championship reign, Bradley moved up to the 147 pound division and beat Pacquiao on June 9, 2012 to capture the WBO welterweight crown for the first of three consecutive career-best victories. Bradley followed that by co-starring in the Fight of the Year on March 16, 2013, at StubHub Center, winning a brutal 12-round decision over future world champion Ruslan Provodnikov though Bradley was suffering from a concussion throughout most of the fight. Seven months later Bradley encored with another virtuoso performance in defeating three-division world champion and Mexican icon Juan Manuel Márquez on October 12, 2013, at The Forum, proving that Bradley is indeed one of boxing’s elite pound for pound fighters.

For fight updates go to toprank.com, hbo.com/boxing or mgmgrand.com on Facebook at facebook.com/trboxing,, facebook.com/trboxeo or facebook.com/hboboxing, and on Twitter at twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, or twitter.com/hboboxing. Use the Hashtag #PacBradley to join the conversation on Twitter.

About MGM Grand:

MGM Grand Hotel & Casino is “The Entertainment Authority,” creating the ultimate Las Vegas experience. A variety of accommodations serve every need while guests discover signature dining by celebrity chefs including Tom Colicchio’s Craftsteak, Michael Mina’s PUB 1842, Wolfgang Puck’s Bar & Grill and Michelin three star restaurant, Joël Robuchon. The resort offers a wide-range of world-class entertainment at the MGM Grand Garden Arena; the epic KÀ by Cirque du Soleil; world-famous dance crew Jabbawockeez; master illusionist David Copperfield; Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club; and Hakkasan Las Vegas in addition to a pampering spa and salon and an elaborate 380,000-square-foot conference center. MGM Grand is a wholly owned subsidiary of MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM). For more information and reservations, visit mgmgrand.com, call toll free at (877) 880-0880 or find us on Facebook and Twitter or follow our blog.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Jose Ramirez will take on Manuel Perez on the Manny Pacquiao – Timothy Bradley 3 card on April 9 in Las Vegas.

“Jose Ramirez is going into his first appearance on the big stage,” Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said. “He represents the future of boxing. He is the fan favorite in his hometown [near] Fresno, where he is widely known. We now believe he will become very popular among fans throughout the United States and the world.”

“I feel honored and thankful for the opportunity given to me, and I will do my best to give my greatest performance April 9,” Ramirez said.

“Jose is a champion inside and out of the ring, and there will be a ton of people from Fresno who will spend tens of thousands of dollars on tickets alone to see it in person, and many will watch at home as we have been flooded with ticket requests already.”

Manny Pacquiao will take on Timothy Bradley in a rubber match on April 9th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“[Pacquiao adviser] Michael [Koncz] cleared everything with Manny and we sent out the advance money to seal the deal,” said Top Rank promoter Bob Arum.

“I already looked at it. I don’t believe in waiting,” said Bradley’s trainer Teddy Atlas. “When this fight was first discussed, I looked at it and I see what I should see and I see why Pacquiao was able to be effective and why Tim was able to be effective at the times when he was effective.”

Arum said he knew that many boxing fans would be a react negatively to the fight, but said, “This is a different Timothy Bradley under the aegis of Teddy Atlas,” Arum said. “This is not me just saying that. The Bradley that fought Rios, whatever you thought about Rios, was a different fighter. It’s still Bradley, but a new Bradley with Teddy. And at this point of his career, can Manny handle that? Remember, Manny is also coming off an injury.”

“Anyone who has watched me on ESPN for nearly 20 years knows I’m not one to throw out superlatives unless I believe them, but Pacquiao is one of the best fighters of the last decade,” Atlas said. “It’ll be a tough challenge, but we’ll make sure we’re ready for [it]. We will respect the challenge Pacquiao presents. We will do what we’re supposed to do and be 100 percent prepared. It will be a difficult fight.”

Arum is already licking his chops to promote the fight, in part, as a battle between Atlas and Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s Hall of Fame trainer and seven-time trainer of the year. Atlas and Roach don’t particularly care for each other, and Arum is banking on some trash talk between the cornermen to help sell the fight.

“If that’s what people are looking to see, they’ll see shadowboxing,” Atlas said. “They’ll see Freddie by himself. I have no interest in that. This is about Timmy and about winning the fight. That’s all it’s about for me. It’s about Timmy, not about me and Freddie.”

“I am not going to position this as his last fight,” Arum said. “It may very well be his last fight, but I won’t put myself in the position of selling it as his last fight and then he decides he wants to fight again and I look like a schmuck. I’m not sure it is his last fight, despite what he told me.”

“The reasoning was they didn’t think Khan would resonate on pay-per-view in the United States,” Arum said. “While people in the boxing community know him, he wasn’t well known by the public in the United States. In England, sure. There was no contest that he would be bigger business over there. But the bulk of the money is in the United States pay-per-view.

“And they felt that Crawford was a great fighter but that even though the boxing fans knew him, the public at large hadn’t heard of him. They thought Bradley, coming off the victory over Rios and the fact that he looked like a new fighter under Teddy Atlas, would do very well on pay-per-view.”

“At that point, we directed our efforts on making the match between Pacquiao and Bradley,” Arum said. “[Top Rank president] Todd [duBoef] worked with Monica Bradley [Timothy’s wife and manager] on the terms, and he’s satisfied. And the paperwork is being generated now.

“We also gave Pacquiao all the information we received from the TV companies and the MGM, and he made the choice.”