Bradley: Pacquiao’s fire is out

LAS VEGAS // Manny Pacquiao's religious adviser wants him up at 5am every day for prayers. The eight-division champion sometimes has 100 people and a yappy dog named Pacman in his home, playing darts and carousing into the night, after training sessions.

Even during a hiatus from his duties as a Filipino congressman, it is difficult to see how a great boxer could keep his focus and fire amid Pacquiao’s hectic life and long career.

According to Timothy Bradley, Pacquiao cannot do it.

“When was the last time you saw him knock somebody out? He’s not the same guy,” Bradley said, knowing it has been nearly five years since Pacquiao won by knock-out. “He’s more compassionate, more kind. That spark isn’t there. That’s not good for a boxer.”

The unbeaten Bradley, 31-0, including a split decision over Pacquiao two years ago, has repeatedly declared the challenger has lost his killer instinct ahead of their highly anticipated welterweight title rematch Saturday night at Las Vegas.

He claims he does not care what Pacquiao (55-5-2, with 38 KOs) thinks and that might be Bradley’s greatest indictment of all.

“It wouldn’t affect him if he didn’t believe it,” Bradley said. “He definitely started thinking, ‘Maybe I am too nice. Maybe I have lost my fire’.

“He started second-guessing himself and really thinking about it. Freddie [Roach] should thank me for saying that. If he gets offended by it, he needs to check himself.

“Maybe he got a reality check.”

Pacquiao’s long-time trainer has insisted he has seen signs of the heavy puncher who captivated the boxing world during a 15-fight winning streak before the disputed loss to Bradley.

“I think he’s really winding my guy up to be explosive in this fight, so I thank him for that,” Roach said. “Manny feels like he’s being disrespected, like it’s a little bit of a slap in the face.”

For the first time in several camps, Pacquiao knocked down a sparring partner at Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Los Angeles.

For the first time in ages, Pacquiao is talking about inflicting pain rather than minimising it.

“He’s very religious right now, but he has mentioned during the mitts and so forth that if he hurts this guy, he’ll finish him,” Roach said. “He showed me the combination he’ll use. I like that, because he’s talking about hurting people for the first time in a long time. I think that hunger is back a little bit.”

After nearly a year away, Pacquiao looked solid last autumn in a clear-cut victory over Brandon Rios, but his inability to stop a defence-deficient opponent stoked the discussion about whether Pacquiao’s most dynamic days are over.

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw him take a backwards step in the 12th round,” said Bradley, who has stopped just one opponent in the past seven years. “He didn’t try to engage. He didn’t try to finish.

“I had never seen that from Manny Pacquiao before. It’s amazing to me.”

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