Celebrated Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach predicts that WBO welterweight champion Timothy ?Desert Storm? Bradley will run just like he did in his fight against Manny Pacquiao when he battles Pacquiao?s premier sparring partner Ruslan Provodnikov at the Home Depot Center in Carson City, California on March 16.
Roach and Provodnikov who is ranked No. 3 have been working hard at the Wild Card Gym in preparation for the Bradley fight and Roach said ?We are having an outstanding camp. Ruslan has given me everything I have asked for in training. The fact that Ruslan has been Pacquiao?s lead sparring partner his past two camps (against Bradley and Juan Mnuel Marquez) has given Ruslan an outstanding foundation from which to work. When Manny was preparing to defend his title against Bradley last spring I said any of Manny's sparring partners could beat Bradley. Ruslan will to prove that on March 16.?
Roach was quoted as saying "I've heard Bradley say he's going to take the fight to Ruslan. He said the same thing before his fight with Manny. And when he feels Ruslan's power, like when he felt Manny's, it's going to be a remake of Forrest Gump. 'Run, Timmy, run!' This isn't about Ruslan finishing what Manny started. It's about duplicating it."
Pacquiao lost a widely criticized split decision against Bradley that brought a howl of protest from around the world from the media, fight fans, promoters and fighters.
The Russian challenger who has a record of 22-1 with 15 knockouts said ?I'm very happy and very satisfied with everything I have been doing with Freddie" even as he enters this fight riding a five-bout winning streak with four of those victories coming by way of knockout.
Provodnikov said, "I know my fans have seen me on ESPN Friday Night Fights fighting a certain way, but on March 16, they will see a different Ruslan inside the ring. My work with conditioning coach Gavin MacMillan has made me stronger and faster and my endurance is tremendous. I have never felt so good."
Photo: Timothy Bradley works out at the Fortune Gym in Los Angeles Tuesday. Photo by Jhay Otamias.
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