Bradley’s key to beating Pacquiao is mental, says trainer Atlas

MANILA, Philippines – For Teddy Atlas, the trainer of WBO welterweight champ Timothy Bradley, the task of earning a victory in a third fight with Manny Pacquiao is as much mental as it is physical.

The 59-year-old disciplinarian from Staten Island, N.Y., said that 75% of the sport is mental, with “chaos” caused by the unique stresses a fighter faces in the ring being an obstacle that can prevent him from executing his strategy in a fight. 

Atlas feels that removing those blocks could bring victory for the 32-year-old Bradley (33-1-1, 13 knockouts) when he faces Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) again on April 9 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. 

“We have our work cut out for us. I know that better than anybody,” Atlas told Rappler of facing the 8-division champion. “We have a monumental task in front of us to get ready for a fighter this kind of quality.” 

Atlas knows the sport in and out of the ring, and from ringside as well. As a trainer he led Michael Moorer to an upset win over Evander Holyfield for the heavyweight championship in 1994, but for the past two decades has been more familiar to fans as a commentator for ESPN Friday Night Fights and for his charitable efforts through The Dr. Theodore A. Atlas Foundation.

Atlas walked away from training after coaching Alexander Povetkin to the WBA heavyweight title earlier this decade. He said he had rejected numerous offers to train fighters before being coaxed back to the corner by Bradley, in large part he said because he considers the Palm Springs, Calif. native a “decent human being.”

Atlas took over at a point when Bradley, who was held to a draw against Diego Chavez and was hurt badly by Jessie Vargas in his two previous fights, seemed to have his best days behind him.

In their first fight together this past November, he led Bradley to a ninth round stoppage of Brandon Rios, who had never been previously stopped. Atlas’ trademark method of driving home in-ring adjustments with bombastic motivational messages – (“We are firemen! The heat doesn’t bother us!”) fired up Bradley en route to the unexpected knockout, and made believers out of many in their tandem. 

Now Atlas finds himself trying to change the course of a fight series which saw Bradley win a highly-disputed split-decision in 2012 before losing on points in a 2014 rematch. 

“I see Timothy as a guy who is in the same neighborhood athletically [as Pacquiao], but hasn’t always been able to channel those abilities in a definitive way,” said Atlas.

“I see in Timothy an athletic kid whose greatest physical asset is his speed, the same as Manny. It may not be quite on the same par as Manny but he’s very close with his hand speed. He has good hand speed; Manny has exceptional, exceptional hand speed. And Manny also has very good foot speed.”

Learning from the past 

Atlas can’t change the past, but he intends to make sure Bradley learns from it.

That’s why Atlas said he has already watched film of the first two fights with Bradley, when it became known that Bradley was on the shortlist of opponents (alongside Amir Khan and Terence Crawford) whom Pacquiao was considering for what he says will be the final fight of his 21-year career.

Pacquiao, 37, of General Santos City, Philippines, will be fighting for the first time since May 2015, when he lost a unanimous decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr in the highest grossing fight in boxing history.

Atlas said he’ll hold a two-day mini camp to break down tape some more, as well as go over strategic “walkthroughs” a month before an 8-week training camp, which will take place on the west coast. 

“Film doesn’t lie. You just have to know how to look at film and how to observe,” Atlas said.

“I want him to be able to see that it’s not just him fighting an iconic fighter, which Pacquiao is. It’s him fighting a fighter with great strengths, but also with flaws. To see these things, to see these strengths for what they are, but seeing also that they can be dealt with. To see the obvious opportunities and how they need to be exploited.”

The fight has been panned by critics who see Bradley as a fighter who was second best in two previous fights. The addition of Atlas, and what he can bring out of Bradley, will likely be a point of focus for the promotion of the fight, which will be broadcast on HBO pay-per-view. 

“People should not buy this fight because they believe it’s Manny’s last fight,” Bob Arum, who promotes both fighters under the Top Rank banner, told Mike Coppinger of USA Today. “They should buy it if they believe with Bradley’s improvement this is a really competitive fight.” 

Atlas may be one of the few people who thinks Bradley can win. His job is to make sure Bradley thinks so, too. – Rappler.com

Ryan Songalia is the sports editor of Rappler, a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and a contributor to The Ring magazine. He can be reached at ryan.songalia@rappler.com. Follow him on Twitter: @RyanSongalia.