By Norm Fraueheim-
LAS VEGAS – Timothy Bradley stepped onto the scale and gestured as if to say there wouldn’t be any surprises
There weren’t.
At a weigh-in without an ounce of the unexpected, Bradley and Manny Pacquiao both came in under the welterweight limit of 147 pounds for their third fight Saturday in an HBO pay-per-view bout at the MGM Grand.
Bradley, his face a serene mask of confidence and his upper body sculpted like an ancient statue, came in at 146.5 pounds. Pacquiao, a little less sculpted yet smiling as he always has, was one pound lighter at 145.5.
There was no trash talk. No threats. History stood between them and perhaps in front of them. Roberto Duran was there, holding a WBO belt specially made for the occasion.
Pacquiao was to his right, Bradley to his left. After posing for the requisite photographs, they turned and left Duran, standing alone with the belt and alone in his undisputed place among history’s all-time greats.
For Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) and Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs), history isn’t the issue. Only Saturday night is. For them, it’s one last chance to settle some of the questions that have been there since Bradley’s controversial victory by split decision in their first meeting in 2012.
It’s a chance for Bradley to prove that maybe it wasn’t quite as controversial as everybody thought it was four years ago. For Pacquiao, it’s a chance to put a final punctuation point on what is perceived to be a rivalry, despite his clearcut decision in their first rematch. The Filipino can prove, once and for all, that he has always been the better fight.
“I have a lot to prove,’’ Pacquiao, a slight favorite, said Friday in what has become a refrain throughout the last few weeks.
Enough proof might be a definitive reason for him to walk away, say farewell, to a career that has already made its own share of history in the ring and for the Philippines. He’s a Congressman and candidate for his country’s Senate. There’s talk he might be president one day.
On Saturday, however, the current Congressman, would-be Senator and wanna-be President only hopes to be the winner.
Bradley, who has endorsed him as politician, is confident that the canvas-covered district between the ropes will belong to him this time around
“Got to get ready for tomorrow, baby,’’ Bradley said. “I think there are going to be a lot of disappointed fans out there.’’
Bradley was talking to Pacquiao’s constituency, a deeply loyal crowd whose faith in him as a Filipino icon remains unshaken by his controversial comments about gays in February.
Questions linger, of course. At opening bell, the biggest one will be about Pacquiao’s right shoulder.
He underwent surgery for a reported muscle tear after a disappointing loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May. How strong is the shoulder? Pacquiao’s promoters say he has fought with the tear since his 2008 victory over Oscar De La Hoya. There are questions about why he didn’t undergo surgery then.
If he had undergone surgery earlier, would he have avoided his long knockout drought? He hasn’t scored stoppage since 2009.
“I don’t know,’’ Pacquiao said.
The guess is that Bradley will test the surgically-repaired shoulder often and early. But the other guess is that Bradley could encounter twice as much power and from more angles from Pacquiao now than he did before surgery.
There are a lot of guesses now. In the end, maybe there’s a surprise.
HBO’s pay-per-view telecast is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. with junior-welterweight Jose Ramirez (16-012 KOs of Avenal, Calif., against Manny Perez (25-11-1, 6 KOs) of Denver. Ramirez was 138 pounds and Perez was 137.5 Friday.
The telecast’s second bout features Mexican featherweight Oscar Valdez (19-0, 16 KOs) of Nogales against ex-IBF champion Evgeny Gradovich (21-1-1, (KOs) of Russia. Valdez was 125 ½ pounds, Gradovich 126.
The third televised bout features WBO super-middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (44-4, 29 KOs) of Berlin against Mexican Gilberto Ramirez (33-0, 24 KOs). Both were at 168 pounds Friday.
