JONATHAN Banks, the trainer of former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, is giving Timothy Bradley a very good shot to score a knockout victory over Manny
Pacquiao in their third meeting on April 9 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The fight is being hyped as the eight-division champion Pacquiao’s farewell bout.
Boxing Scene reported that Banks was actually surprised that Bradley was not made the favorite in the prior two meetings. He holds him in a higher standing than Pacquiao.
“I didn’t think Pacquiao should have been the favorite in any of the previous fights. I think Timothy Bradley is a good athlete, I think he’s a hard worker, and I really believe if comes in there and fights Pacquiao, I honestly think that he will beat him,” said Banks, who made the comments on the popular “On The Ropes Boxing” radio show.
The Klitschko trainer recalled: “You gotta look at what Marquez did. Although Pacquiao and Marquez had such a good rhythm because they had fought so many times before, they could fight each other with their eyes closed. Marquez said, ‘You know what? Everytime he tries to fight me, he jumps in to me but let me see if I can time that jump.’ Marquez timed it right and I think Timothy Bradley should do the same thing, time the jump.”
He noted that “Pacquiao hasn’t changed, just time that jump and catch him when he comes in and Timothy Bradley should be able to knock him out. I really believe Bradley can knock him out. I take nothing away from the training of Teddy Atlas, I think he does a good job with his fighters—his corner ethics are a little extreme but that’s Teddy Atlas trying to get whatever he can out of his fighters, and who can blame him for that?”