by Paul Strauss: Do you believe either camp? Do you believe Bob Arum or Alex Ariza? Do you believe common former opponents who might have their own agenda? Frankly, it gets a bit tiresome listening to all the flaptrap. Thankfully Michael Koncz hasn’t been flapping his jaws.
The truth is Manny and Timothy don’t believe it. They believe in themselves. That’s the reason they’ve gotten to this point in their careers. It isn’t because of what they read or hear, or even have been told in many cases. Rather, it’s because they have tremendous belief in themselves. It’s more than mere confidence. That can quickly dissipate with the first hard shot.
It goes deeper, much deeper. Special people, champions, seem to have the ability to remain unwavering in their beliefs, no matter what the challenge. In fact, the bigger the challenge, the stronger they get. With fighters, it might mean overcoming tremendous fatigue necessary to make that last ditch effort to pull out a win, or rising from a knockdown. Jack Dempsey called it the ability of champions “to get up when they can’t”.. In some cases, it even enables them to somehow to block out the pain and effect of a knockout blow that would fell lesser men.
One recent example of this inner strength was exhibited by Andre Ward. He exhibited it even before his fight with Carl Froch. In the “face off” b.s. a lot of fighters try to put on the macho act, doing their best to look intimidating, or maybe using a lot of profanity, because they think that’s the way tough guys talk. Ward did none of that. He simply took charge in a quiet, authoritative manner, which carried over into the fight itself. True inner strength enabled him to be the “general” in the ring.
What does this mean for Pacquiao and Bradley? Thankfully for fight fans, it means they will be seeing a very exciting fight. Neither one of these individuals is likely to fold easily. All of the Vegas hoopla will be blocked out and there will be total concentration from both men.
Don’t buy into the tripe about Bradley can’t punch, or that he hasn’t improved over the course of his career. If nothing else, belief in self or inner strength mentioned above has improved, and much of the time that is enough to make the difference. Just as untrue are the allegations that Pacquiao is on the way down, or that he is too distracted. Count on him being at his best. He loves challenges, and Bradley will bring out the best he has. It should be a great fight.