By John F. McKenna (McJack): Hundreds of articles have been written by sportswriters around the world about the upcoming fight between Filipino icon WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquaio (54-3-2, 38 KO’s) and undefeated American challenger WBO light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (28-0-1 NC, 12 KO’s).

And with the fight now just a week away boxing fans can expect to be swamped by still more last minute news covering every facet of the lives of both fighters.

Most boxing observers feel that Bradley will give a very good account of himself even if he does not pull off what would be a huge upset. “Desert Storm” is indeed a very rugged fighter who comes to fight and will do whatever it takes win. In addition Bradley is strong, is in tremendous condition and has a good chin. At 28 years old Timothy also figures to be at his physical peak. The one rap against Bradley is that, while he is fast, he does not have KO power. He has only 12 KO’s in his 28 victories.

Manny Pacquiao’s abilities are well known to boxing fans. He has been named Fighter of the Year by boxing writers on three separate occasions in addition to being name Fighter of the Decade for the years from 2000 to 2009. “Pacman” also has the distinction of being the only fighter in boxing history to win world championships in eight weight divisions.

The rap against Pacquiao by some boxing fans is that some of his fights have been at catch weights, although that usually does not become an issue until after he has severely trounced fighters who have been a good deal larger than him. The most current rap against Manny is that at 33 he is starting to slip and he is not the same fighter who a couple of years ago was described by some fans as “The Pacific Storm”.

Last November Pacquiao put in a lackluster performance against WBO/WBA lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1, 39 KO’s). Manny won a highly controversial decision in a fight most boxing fans thought he lost. Although many of Pacquiao’s fans attribute his poor performance against Marquez to the alleged marital strife surrounding him at the time, there are some fans who claim that at 33 Manny’s best days are behind him.

The reports coming out of Pacquiao’s training camp are that he is at the top of his game and that he has all of his old speed and explosive power back. But that is what you would expect to hear coming out of Manny’s camp. Prior to his fight with Marquez both trainer Freddie Roach and conditioning coach Alex Ariza were predicting the early demise of “El Dinamita”. In essence it is hard to distinguish between the real and the unreal when deciphering comments coming out of training camps.

More than likely the spiritual awakening that engulfed Manny Pacquiao shortly after his fight with Marquez was the result of receiving the shock of his life and the realization that he came within an eyelash of losing the match.

There is no doubt in this writer’s mind that Pacquiao is back on track with his training and is not longer engaged in the extra curricular activities that accompanied many of his earlier camps. But to be certain we will have to wait until he engages Timothy Bradley in the ring next Saturday night.”

The great unknown for Bradley will be how he stands up to what has been described as “Pacman’s” freakish power. With much of the fight presumably being at close quarters Timothy’s chin will most likely be tested early and often.