By Chris Williams: WBO light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (28-0, 12 KO’s) was shocked, disappointed and amused to learn that Freddie Roach is comparing Bradley’s fighting style to that of Ricky Hatton, who is nothing like Bradley at all. Bradley also saw it as funny that Russian light welterweight contender Ruslan Provodnikov was brought in to get Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KO’s) ready for the June 9th fight against Bradley.

Bradley said to WLIE Radio in New York, as quoted by examiner.com, “I hear Freddie Roach is comparing me to Ricky Hatton and I’m like ‘Dude, you guys are retarded if you think I fight like Ricky Hatton.’ Honestly, but no offense, what are you guys looking at? And then they bring in Russian guy [Provodnikov] who comes forward and is a banger and I’m like ‘Wow, these guys really don’t know what I can do.’ It’s funny, they think I’m just this face-first brawler and I’m like ‘You guys are going to be in for a rude awakening.”

I thought the same thing myself when I heard that Roach was comparing Bradley with Hatton, because they are nothing a like at all. For starters, Hatton was a lot slower than Bradley, and he had poor boxing fundamentals. Hatton liked to leap off his feet when throwing left hooks, and that was his undoing in fights against Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Pacquiao. Bradley doesn’t load up like that with his shots. He stays flat-footed and aims his shots well. Hatton was more of a wrestler on the inside, where he would fight for extended periods of time if he was allowed to. Bradley doesn’t wrestle, and is more about keeping busy with his shots and not trying to wear an opponent down by grappling in close the way that Hatton used to do.

What was really interesting was the choice of a sparring partner Roach made. Of all the guys to choose to get Pacquiao ready for Bradley, he chooses Provodnikov, a straight ahead fighter with limited defensive skills and not much hand speed. The only thing that Provodnikov has in common with Bradley is their height and reach, and that’s it. Roach might as well have picked Amir Khan to be Pacquiao’s sparring partner for all the good it would do, because he’d be about as useful in getting Pacquiao ready for Bradley as the slow and hittable Provodnikov is.

I’m starting to worry about some of the decision making that Roach has been doing recently. I know he’s been blessed with talented fighters like Khan, Pacquiao and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. deciding to train with him, but I think he’s missing the boat with his decision making in getting Pacquiao ready for Bradley. Pacquiao is going to be lost out there when he sees how much different Bradley is compared to Hatton and Provodnikov. If Pacquiao and Roach are thinking that Bradley is going to be like Hatton and Provodnikov, it’s going to be a tough night for the Filipino star on June 9th. I can see Roach going into a panic mode when he sees how overwhelmed Pacquiao is in there.