The mind has no abs

LAS VEGAS – Even the most loyal Manny Pacquiao fan will admit that Timothy Bradley’s abs are in a class of their own. At the weigh-in last Friday, Bradley stripped off his shirt to reveal bulging lumps in his midsection like bread buns. Pacquiao’s abs aren’t as defined or pronounced. So in a bodybuilding contest, Bradley is a hands-down winner.

But in boxing, a finely-chiseled physique is no guarantee for a victory because the mind has no abs. Bradley’s mental toughness is suspect and that’s something Pacquiao will expose when they face off at the MGM Grand Garden Arena here this morning (Manila time). After taking a beating from Ruslan Provodnikov in March last year, Bradley swore off risking his health ever again in the ring. He suffered a concussion in the fight and his speech was slurred for weeks. Freddie Roach said Bradley’s speech isn’t the same anymore.

Bradley fought cautiously against Juan Manuel Marquez last October and won a split decision. That action plan was a result of Bradley’s promise to fight more tactically than confrontational. It’s also a hint that if Bradley gets hurt in a future fight, he might just think twice about continuing. If Pacquiao lands early and hurts Bradley, the Desert Storm could capitulate sooner than expected.

There’s a downside to building up muscle. It could slow down a fighter, make him an easier target. Bradley scaled 145 1/2 for the Pacquiao rematch. In their first encounter, he weighed 146. Pacquiao scaled 145, two pounds less than what he weighed for the initial bout. “At the end of the day, Bradley acknowledges his muscles, impressive as they are, may have made him a touch slower and his punches less powerful but he’s still confident he’ll earn a rematch victory,” wrote Geoffrey Gray of sportsonearth.com.

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Bradley’s father Ray will be in his corner with trainer Joel Diaz and influenced his son’s preoccupation with abs. Ray almost became a professional body builder and earned a living as a luggage hauler at the airport and a security guard at a school. When Bradley asked permission to play as a boy, his father wouldn’t give it unless he made a hundred pushups and situps a day for a month. That early introduction to building a strong set of stomach muscles got Bradley on track in developing a handsome physique.

Conditioning was a priority in Pacquiao’s camp and bringing back Justin Fortune after a seven-year absence was a blessing. “In his last few fights, Manny’s been lacking the power and explosiveness that made him a marquee fighter,” said Fortune. “So over the last 10 weeks, we’ve built it back and his body is responding like crazy, just by doing things they did in the old days----swinging medicine balls, doing wheelbarrow carries, swinging sledgehammers, real manual labor stuff like fighters used to do. We think he’s going to do a lot of chasing in this fight. So to do that, he ran 4 to 5 miles a day, sometimes in the hills, all uphill, at a pretty good pace.”

Fortune said even if Pacquiao is five years older than Bradley, he’ll be ready to rumble despite his comparatively less impressive abs. “He’s strong and ready,” said Fortune. “Even if, and that’s a big if, he’s dropped a notch, he’s still ridiculously faster than anyone out there. Manny’s just a freak physically and fighters like him don’t come along very often. After he’s done, there won’t be another one like him for a long time.”

Fortune will rejoin Pacquiao’s corner consisting of Roach, chief second Buboy Fernandez and cutman Miguel Diaz. Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said Fortune’s return could mean a change of fortunes for Pacquiao who has lost two of his last three outings.

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“Manny’s big problem before was stamina, that he didn’t think he could go the full 12 rounds so he paced himself in fights,” said Arum. “Knowing he can go 20 rounds now is the biggest thing.”

Bradley, 30, prepared for the rematch by doing extraordinary things like sparring for 10-minute rounds instead of three, rotating sparmates each round and sticking to a vegan diet. He also refused to shower until the weigh-in, thinking the beads of water in a bath will enter his body through pores and make him heavier. Are those signs of a fighter slowly losing his mind?

If it’s mind over matter, Pacquiao has the edge over Bradley. Throughout the run-up to the fight, Bradley insisted that Pacquiao has lost his killer instinct. Was Bradley trying to convince himself to disguise his fright? His rants seem to betray an insecurity. Pacquiao has laughed off Bradley’s claim that this will be the Filipino’s last hurrah. That claim is another indication of Bradley’s tension.

When the bell rings this morning, expect Pacquiao to go all out for a knockout. He’ll charge in relentlessly and turn on the volume of his punches. When Bradley backs off and runs, Pacquiao will hunt him down until the Desert Storm has no room left to hide. As the saying goes, you can run but you can’t hide. Pacquiao will stop Bradley in the seventh round to regain the WBO title.