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.”

It’s a holiday treat for HBO Boxing fans. Over four consecutive nights in late December, the HBO service will present nine of the year’s standout fights, spotlighting some of the biggest names in the sport in riveting performances. Featured are signature wins by Canelo Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin, Sergey Kovalev, Terence Crawford, Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez and Timothy Bradley Jr.

Starting Sunday, Dec. 27, HBO will replay nine major league showdowns from this year sprinkled over four consecutive nights. All the fights will also be available on HBO ON DEMAND® as well as the HBO NOW and HBO GO® services.

The “Boxing’s Best” lineup airs at 11:00 p.m. each night and includes:

Sunday, December 27 Sergey Kovalev vs. Jean Pascal I
Terence Crawford vs. Dierry Jean
Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland

Monday, December 28 Lucas Matthysse vs. Ruslan Provodnikov
Timothy Bradley Jr. vs. Brandon Rios

Tuesday, December 29 Gennady Golovkin vs. David Lemieux
Takashi Miura vs. Francisco Vargas

Wednesday, December 30 Miguel Cotto vs. Canelo Alvarez
Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez vs. Brian Viloria

*Winners names are in italics
All Times ET/PT

“It is a great honor to have this opportunity to attend the Ring 8 holiday event and awards dinner. I am humbled and grateful to be presented with the Fighter of the Year award for their organization and will be proud to represent them,” said Bradley.

Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs), of Palm Springs, Calif., enjoyed a stellar year which saw him win a unanimous decision over undefeated world champion JESSIE VARGAS to regain the WBO welterweight world title in June followed by a successful defense of the title in November, stopping former world champion BRANDON “Bam Bam” RIOS in the ninth round. It was just the third loss for Rios and the first time he had ever been knocked out in his 11-year professional career. It also marked the first fight Bradley had legendary trainer Atlas in his corner.

Remaining tickets, priced at $125.00 per person, can be purchased by contacting Bob Duffy by phone (516.313.2304), email DepComish@aol.com, or mail checks (payable to Ring 8) to him (164 Lindbergh Street, Massapequa Park, NY 11762). Donations of any denomination are welcome for those unable to attend the festivities.

Tickets include a complete brunch with cocktail hour upon entry, followed by seating at the awards ceremony, dinner and dessert, and top-shelf open bar throughout the afternoon. There will also be a silent auction of boxing memorabilia. This event is expected to sell-out and everybody is urged to purchase tickets as soon as possible in order to secure favorable seating.

For more information on the event and on Ring 8, go to http://www.ring8ny.com/?p=14817

For Top Rank fight updates go to www.toprank.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/trboxing or facebook.com/trboxeo, and on Twitter at twitter.com/trboxing or twitter.com/trboxeo.

By Bart Barry

Saturday in a Thomas & Mack Arena that was not sold out, American welterweight Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley and his new trainer, Teddy Atlas, combined to retire American Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios after dropping him twice, in round 9. The fight happened on HBO, a network that completed its three-year and 180-degree perspective-pivot on Bradley by celebrating Bradley’s new choice of trainer and Bradley’s new trainer with the enthusiasm of a rookie talent recruiter selling a prospect to Google.

Yes, the makeover is exaggerated, but let us play along for a couple reasons like: Tim’s a good guy, and we don’t have much of a choice because we’re going to be fed a Bradley-Atlas-union feast long after we push ourselves back from the table, hands waving in sated, otiose resistance.

If there’s a gigantic difference between the marketing of the Bradley-Atlas relationship and the Miguel Cotto-Freddie Roach relationship, it is not apparent. Both trainer narratives brought electrical charges to stalled products: Cotto, having been decisioned by Floyd Mayweather and Austin Trout, was out of the pay-per-view business unless something more than cosmetic might be done. A few more tattoos, a lot more hotpink, a goofy boy friend’s weightloss, an unknown handler from Cuba, improved English – these were insubstantial product improvements when set against knockout losses to Antonio Margarito and Manny Pacquiao and a two-fight losing streak. Enter Coach Freddie: what chemistry! what trust! what rediscovery of the left hook! my goodness!

Those enhancements, along with an opponent on the downside of a six-loss career, and the new and improved product was done with infomercials and ready to ship. Cotto then blazed through the tissuepaper of Sergio Martinez’s knee(s), became the linear middleweight champion of the world and perfected his pronunciation of an English phrase he learned early in ESL tutelage: “A-side.” (The ‘SL’ in ESL may be inaccurate, we now learn: the nurses in the Rhode Island hospital where apparently El Gran Campeón Puertorriqueño was born surely brought English to the young man’s ears early.) All the Cotto product relaunch lacked was a mandatory title defense against a hopeless opponent, a chance to remind viewers Cotto reminded them of anyone from Mike Tyson to Benny Leonard, old timers, in other words, who reminded us of the old Miguel Cotto – neither the guy who took a knee against Margarito nor the guy pulped by Pacquiao but the warrior who cracked Paulie Malignaggi’s face – and Daniel “Real Deal” Geale strode on the set in June.

That match brought the hundredth or so chance for viewers to squint for insights at a fight whose outcome not one aficionado doubted. Anymore, an engaged aficionado, an endangered mammal whose ranks continue thinning as its hungerstrikers perish from malnourishment, gets encouraged by broadcasters to watch fights the way an NFL scout investigates combines or a Major Leaguer stares at his radar gun. Since the matchmaking and broadcasting are universally ironic – in the rhetorical sense of meaning other than what they state – aficionados, uniquely endowed with the talent and opportunities for cynicism, cynically derive from results whatever they expect to see.

It would be tragic if it were not, in its way, an intriguing adaptation: As if lifelong basketball fans deprived of watching their favorite NBA teams play one another derived, instead, fantasy basketball teams assembled according to height and vertical leap and whatever glowing commentary Charles Barkley had about players, and then set these fantasy teams loose on high school playgrounds, where they regularly mauled their teenage opponents, leaving the financially interested broadcasters of these contests to say of LeBron James dunking over a 5-foot-3 schoolboy freshman, “Looking at that dominant performance by James, one immediately thinks of Dr. J in the 1983 finals against the Lakers!”

Would such a derivative league survive? Doubtlessly it would. Would it thrive? Doubtlessly it wouldn’t.

None of this describes, quite, what happened Saturday, so much as it describes what might happen in Bradley’s next match, which will not be against Canelo Alvarez, of all absurd suggestions. Bradley beat down Rios more effectively than anticipated. But here we go again: Was Bradley disproportionately improved, or was Rios, career property of promoter Top Rank and its peerless matchmaking, disproportionately spent before the bell?

A quick memory might be instructive. The first time I interviewed Bob Arum, in 2004, I asked him if Top Rank could select a prospect on one criterion alone, what that criterion would be.

“Does he dissipate between fights?” said Arum immediately.

Setting aside how much smarter that answer is than what Richard Schaefer or any of Al Haymon’s subsequent puppets might say, it underlines boldly how closely Top Rank considers its fighters between matches, which is a roundabout way of imparting how unsurprised Top Rank likely was by how helpless Brandon Rios looked Saturday. That is not an indictment of Timothy Bradley or his new trainer. It really isn’t. They prepared for a much larger version of the Brandon Rios who, in 2011, blitzed both Miguel Acosta and Urbano Antillon, surely, and Bradley did in fact look better.

It’s a partial indictment, though, of the silliness that happened during the telecast, the spiraling embellishment that seems modern broadcasting’s default reaction to the predictable unevenness of uneven contests. Couched in the false humility of the conditional tense – could it be? would it have been? were it possible . . . – the intended seeding of the idea finds its roots and caretaking in whatever follows the humblefeint, slipping right past the viewer’s lowered guard. It’s not meanspirited mischief, no, but neither is it disinterested.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

LAS VEGAS –Timothy Bradley promised a victory. He also promised a whole new animal.

He delivered on the victory Saturday night. But he didn’t have to be a new species. The old one — the Bradley of a few years ago — was enough.

A Bradley with resurrected skills and a new trainer, Teddy Atlas in his corner overwhelmed a shopworn Brandon Rios, who had neither the skill nor the energy to counter a disciplined jab, side-to-side movement and — in the end – a left hook.

The hook dropped Rios in the ninth round in what would be the first salvo in his imminent demise. Seconds after Rios got off his hands and knees, Bradley landed two body shots, first up the middle and then one to Rios’ side.

Rios didn’t get up this time. He was done, a loser by knockout at 2:49 of the ninth.

For Bradley, it played out exactly as planned. Atlas wanted him to be patient. He said he wanted Bradley to take a piece out of Rios, round by agonizing round. If there was a new animal in Bradley, it was a piranha, Atlas said.

“I just did what Teddy said,’’ said Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs), who put himself back in line for rematch with Manny Pacquiao, perhaps in April.

Speculation about Pacquiao is is bound to be rampant for the next couple of weeks. But jubilant Arum had no doubt that Bradley had re-emerged as one of Top Rank’s stars.

“The best Bradley I’ve ever seen,’’ Arum said.

The same couldn’t be said for Rios, whose career appeared to be at an end.

“I think I’m done,’’ Rios (33-3-1, 24 KOs) said.

Rios might have been weakened by a battle to make weight.

Two tenths of a pound aren’t much, but they were enough to make a weigh-in last an hour longer than it should have Friday.

Rios stepped on the scale once, stripped off his shorts behind a strategically placed sheet and stepped on the scale again. Once, twice, shorts on, shorts off and he was still two-tenths heavier than the 147-pound mandatory for his welterweight bout Saturday night against Timothy Bradley at Thomas & Mack Center.

For the next 60 minutes, Rios found a bathroom, stood around a hallway outside of a ballroom at The Wynn and then headed back to the scale. Once, twice, shorts on, shorts off and this time the two tenths were gone, presumably flushed from the proceedings.

Actually, Rios said he could have saved everybody a lot of time had he been allowed an extra minute or two. In so many words and more than a few expletives, he said he was trying to get rid of the two-tenths when he was called off the stool and onto the scale.

“There was no drama,’’ Rios said then. “I’m ready.’’

Rios’ face looked a little drawn after the weigh-in. He’s no stranger to off and on the scale controversies. As a lightweight, he missed weight twice. The move up to welter was supposed to make things easier.

But Rios has never been about easy.

Not easy on himself or anybody else, especially after a loss that could force him to flush a lot more than just two-tenths.

Lomachenko dominates in 10th-round KO

It was the Vasyl Lomachenko show.

Murata gains further experience, stays unbeaten

Featherweight Marriaga dominant in taking unanimous decision

Colombian featherweight Miguel Marriaga flashed his world -class credentials early and often with a patient and précise performance for which there was no argument.

Michael Reed scored seventh-round TKO

Power and angles were a double-edged combo that Maryland junior-welterweight Michael Reed employed relentlessly.

Ruthlessly, too.

In the end, all of it overwhelmed Rondale Hubbert (10-4-1,6 KOs), a Minneapolis fighter who was knocked down early in the seventh and left hanging on the ropes from a succession of punches from Reed (17-0, 10 KOs) midway through the round of the second bout on the Brandon Rios-Timothy Bradley card Saturday at Thomas & Mack Center. Referee Kenny Bayless, stepped in, ending it at 1:09 of the seventh.

One punch opened show.

Egidijus Kavaliauskas threw it.

One minute into the first round of the opening bout on the Timothy Bradley-Brandon Rios card, Kavaliauskas (10-0, 9 KOs), a two-time Olympian from Lithuania and welterweight prospect in trainer Robert Garcia gym, landed an overhand right, knocking out Jake Giuriceo (17-5-1, 4 KOs) of Struthers, Ohio.

LONDON (6 November) – World champion Tim Bradley has vowed to dazzle this Saturday night against big punching Brandon Rios under the tutelage of new trainer Teddy Atlas.

The 32-year-old star has claimed he is a much improved fighter since joining forces with Mike Tyson’s one-time cornerman and that he is unfazed at anything the relentless Rios will throw at him.

“I don’t care what Rios is doing in his camp. I am only concerned about what I am going to do on fight night. I am absolutely, totally focused. I am not the same fighter I was before,” said Bradley.

“When Teddy came to camp he challenged me, not what I could do physically but my mental aspect of fighting. When Teddy came to camp he took a book of images of certain rounds I had fought previously.

“There were notes about what I did right and what I did wrong. No trainer of mine has ever prepared for a fight like Teddy has for me against Rios,” he said.

Two-weight champion Bradley, who controversially beat Manny Pacquiao in their first meeting before losing the rematch, his only loss to date, knows exactly what Rios is going to bring to the ring ahead of their fight, exclusively live on BoxNation.

“Rios can bring on the pressure all night long and we will deal with it. We are prepared for intense pressure. The only chance Rios has is a lucky punch and that’s not going to happen.

“Teddy Atlas brought in two sparring partners who have put pressure on me every single second for the last three weeks. Rios is living on a prayer and he knows it,” Bradley said.

“My game plan is to stay totally focused for 36 minutes of fighting. Rios fights hard, is relentless, can endure pain and look for one shot to hurt me.

“I want this fight badly. I plan to keep it in control my way. Teddy is full of wisdom. Together we are going to win this big fight,” he said.

The respected Atlas is also backing his man to show his maturity in the ring as he takes the reins for their first fight together since Bradley released long-time trainer Joel Diaz.

“We looked at a lot of videos of Rios to take a look at how he moves and his tendencies. We are not concerned about what is happening in the Rios camp because I’ve seen fighters have bad camps and fight well and have seen fighters who had great camps not perform on fight night,” said Atlas.

“Tim did his job to prepare for Rios. He knows what it takes and what we have to do to win on Saturday. Tim is ready to fight. We both know what needs to be done – total focus for 12 complete rounds – to win this fight.”

Former lightweight world champion Rios though has other ideas as he comes off a blitzing third round win against the tough Mike Alvarado earlier year.

29-year-old Rios is known for his all-action style and is ready to claim his second world title against his fellow Californian.

“We are ready for the best Tim Bradley, the one who beat Juan Manuel Marquez. I have been in camp in Riverside, California for three months. This is the Camp Zone,” said Rios.

“We brought in three kinds of sparring partners – a boxer, a brawler and a boxer-brawler. I want to get back on top in boxing. Bradley is in my way. Bradley is going to be my ticket back to the top,” he said.

Bradley v Rios is live on BoxNation (Sky 437/490HD, Virgin 525, TalkTalk 415, online or app) this Saturday night. Visit boxnation.com to subscribe.

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By Norm Frauenhim–

A corner is Teddy Atlas’ bully pulpit. He once sat on Michael Moorer’s stool after a round midway through a 1994 bout with Evander Holyfield. Moorer looked down at Atlas in disbelief. At the start of the next round, however, Moorer believed.

Believed enough to win a narrow decision and a heavyweight title.

The dramatic gesture is always there, an over-the-top move perhaps, yet a tactic played as well as any by Atlas. It doesn’t always work. The relationship between trainer and fighter is all about chemistry, a periodic table of personality traits and emotional elements. Sometimes, it just blows up.

Will it work between Atlas and Timothy Bradley? It’ll have to. There’s no chance to test it. Or if there was, Atlas and Bradley decided to forgo it and instead chose to march straight into harm’s way Saturday night at Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center against Brandon Rios, whose stubborn pressure and relentless energy are bound to subject the new found union to stress that can break it.

Atlas and Bradley said all the right things Wednesday in a conference call before their formal arrival at The Wynn, the home casino for the HBO-televised bout (9:30 p.m. ET/PT). Atlas preached and Bradley talked with the conviction of a welterweight who has been resurrected to be better than ever.

“A whole different animal,’’ said Bradley, who about two months ago split with Joel Diaz, his only pro trainer before he called Atlas.

Bradley, always likable and credible, was convincing. But a fair judgment awaits an opening bell and that first big punch.

“He’s going to tell you after the fight,’’ Rios trainer Robert Garcia said.

The deal between Bradley and Atlas is an acknowledgement of that reality. The two have a fight-to-fight agreement. There’s nothing long-term, not for them or – for that matter – Rios, who concedes his career is at the make-or-break stage.

Betting odds suggest that Atlas and Bradley will be together for more than just one training camp. When the fight was announced, Bradley was about a 5-to-1 favorite. The guess is that his overall skill will prevail against Rios, whom Bradley calls one-dimensional.

The question, however, is whether Bradley has seen his best days. He survived Ruslan Provodnikov’s concussive punches in the 2013 Fight of the Year. But at what price? Signs of possible wear and tear were there when he got wobbled in the final seconds of a one-sided decision over Jessie Vargas in his last outing.

But was that just a careless moment or another in a long succession of big punches at the end of Bradley’s career? Undisciplined or vulnerable? From Atlas’ perspective, it’s just been matter of absorbing too many big blows.

Atlas, ever the preacher, calls them mortal sins. Too many of them, and Bradley’s money-making days will be condemned to a premature end.

“He has to quit taking those big shots, quit committing those mortal sins,’’ said Atlas, the ESPN analyst who says he agreed to work with Bradley in part because the 32-year-old welterweight still wants to learn. “We can live with the menial ones.’’

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS – Two tenths of a pound aren’t much, but they were enough to make a weigh-in last an hour longer than it should have Friday.

Brandon Rios stepped on the scale once, stripped off his shorts behind a strategically placed sheet and stepped on the scale again. Once, twice, shorts on, shorts off and he was still two-tenths heavier than the 147-pound mandatory for his welterweight bout Saturday night against Timothy Bradley at Thomas & Mack Center.

For the next 60 minutes, Rios found a bathroom, stood around a hallway outside of a ballroom at The Wynn and then headed back to the scale. Once, twice, shorts on, shorts off and this time the two tenths were gone, presumably flushed from the proceedings.

Actually, Rios said he could have saved everybody a lot of time had he been allowed an extra minute or two. In so many words and more than a few expletives, he said he was trying to get rid of the two-tenths when he was called off the stool and onto the scale.

“There was no drama,’’ Rios said. “I’m ready.’’

Rios’ face looked a little drawn after the weigh-in, which included Vasyl Lomachenko (4-1, 2 KOs) and Romulo Koasicha (25-4, 15 KOs) both at 125.6 pounds for a WBO featherweight title fight. He’s no stranger to off and on the scale controversies. As a lightweight, he missed weight twice. The move up to welter was supposed to make things easier.

But Rios has never been about easy.

On himself or anybody else.

With his career at a crossroads, Rios (33-2-1, 24 KOs) is expected to make things difficult for the favored Bradley (32-1-1, 12 KOs) in an HBO-televised bout (9:30 p.m. ET/PT) that was officially sanctioned as a World Boxing Organization title fight.

His tireless pressure figures to test Bradley, who was at a business-like 146 pounds. For Bradley, the bout is his first with trainer Teddy Atlas. Bradley had spent his entire pro career with Joel Diaz. They knew each other instinctively, almost like father and son. What happens when Rios lands his first big punch? How will Bradley respond to adversity when he sees a different face, Atlas instead of Diaz, in his corner?

That looms as the bout’s key question. If Bradley has the right answer, Rios will wind up flushing a lot more than just two-tenths.

One of the sport’s best fighters returns to the ring to battle one of the game’s most popular sluggers when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: TIMOTHY BRADLEY JR. VS. BRANDON RIOS AND VASYL LOMACHENKO VS. ROMULO KOASICHA is presented SATURDAY, NOV. 7 at 9:30 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT) from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team will be ringside to call all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

Other HBO playdates: Nov. 8 (9:30 a.m.) and 9 (11:45 p.m.)

HBO2 playdate: Nov. 10 (11:00 p.m.)

Timothy Bradley Jr. (32-1-1, 12 KOs), from Palm Springs, Cal., takes on hard-hitting Brandon Rios (33-2-1, 23 KOs) of Oxnard, Cal., in a scheduled 12-round welterweight championship contest. One of the sport’s most accomplished pros, Bradley, 32, has earned acclaim for his willingness to take on any challenge. His sterling record includes two Manny Pacquiao fights and notable wars with Juan Manuel Marquez and Ruslan Provodnikov. Bradley began his 2015 season with a victory over Jessie Vargas in June, when he claimed a 147-pound title belt. He returns to Las Vegas with veteran Teddy Atlas as his new trainer.

Brandon Rios, 29, trains with Robert Garcia in the boxing hotbed of Oxnard, Cal., and looks to secure a second world title in as many weight divisions. He became one of the top attractions in the 140-pound weight class by brawling and slugging his way to signature wins, including two over archrival Mike Alvarado. The contrasting styles of Bradley and Rios have experts and fans anticipating an all-action affair.

Opening the telecast, world featherweight titleholder Vasyl Lomachenko (4-1, 2 KOs) of Odessa, Ukraine, meets challenger Romulo Koasicha (25-4, 14 KOs) of San Luis Potosi, Mexico in a 12-round, 126-pound clash. Koasicha, 24, has a huge advantage in professional experience, but Lomachenko, 27, is widely regarded as one of the top amateur boxers ever, having captured gold medals in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Although he has had only five pro bouts, Lomachenko should prove a fearless competitor.

Immediately following the live boxing coverage, HBO presents episode #1 of 24/7 Cotto/Canelo at 11:45 p.m. (ET/PT).

Follow HBO boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.

All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.

The executive producer of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is Rick Bernstein; producer, Jon Crystal; director, Johnathan Evans.

® WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.

Timothy Bradley Jr., Greatest Hits
Link: https://youtu.be/hAUqjc5VPrU
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Brandon Rios Greatest Hits
Link: https://youtu.be/G1A5nk_vPek
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Hey Harold!: Bradley vs. Rios
Link: https://youtu.be/-1t7ewWMDTw
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By Bart Barry–

Saturday at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center, American welterweights Timothy Bradley and Brandon Rios will compete for a world title of some sort and, more importantly, for a chance to be their division’s premier b-side attraction – as friend and colleague Norm Frauenheim insightfully put it Friday. While neither guy sees himself as a gatekeeper – Bradley, in fact, has a loose argument for IBHOF induction someday – no one in the sport sees either guy as the world’s best welterweight, though, again, Bradley has a loose argument for that distinction too.

But finally, an honest prizefight. It has been that long, so long in fact this one almost misses us gazing desperately towards Canelo-Cotto while wondering how to compose a eulogy for Ken Hersman’s career at HBO. There has been, and will continue to be, a want of eulogizing for Hershman because, frankly, we’re not qualified to pen eulogies, little as most of us have minded his career at HBO. Consider this, then, an impressionistic portrait by a writer too uninterested to check dates and figures.

Hershman came to HBO sometime after Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander made a disappointment of a match in Pontiac Silverdome, then auditioning for world’s largest empty refrigerator, a disastrous show so poorly attended the HBO broadcast trucks, like the one racing at you in those intro cartoons, parked in the middle of the floor, and even by stuffing the fight in a back corner and closingoff the mezzanine, they still couldn’t make the arena look more than 1/10 full because it wasn’t 1/15 full. Legend has it a few HBO VIPs showed up for that disaster, and after recovering from frostbite set about a plot to fire the man who lost Manny Pacquiao to Showtime for a night (the one in which Pacquiao eradicated world poverty by wearing yellow gloves, historians will recall).

Uninspired to do more than rebuild slowly and cheaply, HBO hired Showtime’s guy, who had fought a marvelous insurgency in the preceding years and made Showtime the destination network for serious fans while HBO lazily tended its starsystem. Maligned as it was by misfortune and miscreants, Hershman’s Super Six tournament was a wonderful thing whose ultimate winners, Andre Ward and Ken Hershman and Carl Froch, did quite well for themselves immediately afterwards. Froch is now retired, Hershman is about to be retired, and Ward continues a halfassed comeback from semiretirment – so nothing, as the saying goes, is permanent.

But whatever innovative spirit Hershman had at Showtime, not an innovative thing was done during his time at HBO, unless discovering Eurasia 20 years after the Soviet Union’s collapse should be called revolutionary. Hershman fired Al Haymon and his lackey Richard Schaefer and Schaefer’s spokesman, Oscar De La Hoya, in a move more memorable for spite than creativity: Hersman did not clear away dead underbrush from the calendar, allowing bold, suppressed ideas to spring forth, so much as he avenged his predecessor and sent Haymon to a much wealthier benefactor with whose capital Haymon, a vindictive pacifist, has smothered boxing to critical condition. Hershman is not to blame for Haymon’s ascent; Haymon is a force of nature, where men like Hershman, and the guy who replaced him at Showtime, are lawerly bureaucrats, not entrepreneurs.

Perhaps HBO’s culture is to blame, in part, while we’re introspecting. Fighters, not fights, drive HBO’s starsystem, a philosophy that manifests itself as a panicked paralysis whenever anointed stars like Nonito Donaire get outclassed by men whose superior skills somehow elude HBO’s staff of talentscouts and matchmakers. Whoever replaces Hershman should move first to acquire a professional matchmaker or two – boxing guys, outsiders who drink too much and dress like slobs, not television guys, not aspiring runway models, not writers-cum-publicists, not lawyers from Harvard or Yale, but men with real contacts lists, real shortnotice talent, real chemistry with prizefighters of all skill levels, and decades, not months, of experience – and enable him- or herself to dictate intelligent terms to serious outfits like Top Rank and Main Events and K2, treating them as suppliers, not partners.

There’s a shortage of talent in prizefighting at this time, and HBO’s next generation of broadcasters should realize this and not hardsell us on historic championship runs like Wladimir Klitschko’s or Gennady Golovkin’s – runs even casual fans know are meaningless. Whoever replaces Hershman, s/he should dictate terms in the negotiation, request a bold budget, request increased latitude, request a brand new team, pause to accept whatever’s offered and not act merely thrilled to be picked. A person who does this likely will find s/he doesn’t jibe with HBO’s current culture and turn down the job. A few incidents like that and perhaps the culture will see a need to change, maybe even deciding our sport is not worth the hassle that broadcasting it brings. Boxing will find a way to struggle along, regardless.

Whatever hassles soon get brought, know this: Bradley-Rios deserves your viewership. These are two honest prizefighters who are, for once, evenly matched. Neither belongs at welterweight: Bradley moved up to make more money, and Rios moved up because his offseason diet makes weighing 135 pounds or 140 impossible. Both are worn by experience, both were fed to Manny Pacquiao for different reasons, and Bradley proved to be the considerably less-digestible dish. Bradley decisioned Pacquiao, and many have not forgiven him for it, despite his acquiescent performance in their rematch. Rios lost to Pacquiao more predictably and lopsidedly than anyone save Chris Algieri. Bradley is a better athlete and a better fighter than Rios, but then, so was Mike Alvarado a better athlete and better fighter than Rios, and Rios beat him down twice.

Bradley has a new trainer, the philosopher poet Teddy Atlas, but what Bradley needed and probably still needs is a technician who tells him to lower his chin and move his head, not a motivational speaker who steels his resolve in a crisis. Bradley manages crises better than anyone currently plying the craft; he needs help navigating round them, not navigating through them.

Still, I’ll take Bradley, SD-12, in an excellent and honest prizefight.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry