Sparmate says Bradley has no chance

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines – Oklahoma fighter Lydell (Hackman) Rhodes said the other day Manny Pacquiao won’t be outworked by Timothy Bradley in their 12-round welterweight bout in Las Vegas on April 9 and predicted an easy win for the Filipino icon with whom he’s sparring to get ready for the Desert Storm.

Rhodes, 28, was brought in to spar with Pacquiao for the second Bradley fight. Now, he’s back with the sparring team for the rubber match. “Freddie Roach’s assistant Marvin (Somodio) called me over a month ago about sparring with Manny again,” he said. “At the time, I had a fight coming up. But the fight got cancelled. Then, I got calls from (Pacquiao’s assistant) David Sisson, Mike Koncz and (matchmaker) Sean Gibbons. I flew out of Las Vegas to Los Angeles then took a flight to Manila and arrived in General Santos City last Tuesday morning. I’m in shape, I’m excited to work with and learn from Manny. My job is to prepare him for Bradley like I did before.”

Rhodes said even as he’s with the Floyd Mayweather team, sparring with Pacquiao is a chance to improve. “I train in Floyd’s gym and his father used to be my trainer,” he said. “Now, my trainer is Chris Ben-Tchavtchavardze who’s an assistant with Eddie Mustafa Muhammad. I was an MMA fighter before I turned to pro boxing. This year, I’m hoping to fight for the world title. If nothing comes up, I’ll fight the top contender. I’m giving myself until next year to fight for the world title. If it still doesn’t happen, I’m going back to MMA.”

A lightwelterweight, Rhodes has a 23-1-1 record, with 11 KOs. Last October, he suffered his first loss in a decision to undefeated Russian Sergey Lipinets who trains at Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles. The scores were 96-93, 98-91 and 98-91. Rhodes said he blew a strong start, lost steam in the middle rounds but thought he did enough down the stretch to earn the verdict. “I’m waiting for a chance to come back,” he said. “I hope (Mayweather’s adviser) Al Haymon gives me a break.”

Rhodes said he respects Bradley as a fighter but Pacquiao is at a different level. “Bradley doesn’t get tired, he knows how to box and pressure,” he said. “He’s very talented but he beats average fighters. Manny’s in a different class. He’s got fast hands and fast feet. Bradley won’t tire out Manny. In their first fight, I thought Manny won every round. My friend bet $300 on Bradley and before the decision was announced, he tore up his stub because it was obvious Manny won. My friend never forgave himself. In the second fight which I prepared Manny for, it was no contest.”

As for Bradley’s last fight against Brandon Rios, Rhodes said he wasn’t impressed. “Bradley’s supposed to be 100 times better now with new trainer Teddy Atlas but I don’t think so,” he said. “Rios was too big, out of shape, not motivated, about to retire and couldn’t be a gauge of how much Bradley has improved with Atlas. Bradley has no one-punch knockout power which Manny has.”

Rhodes admitted that in sparring with Pacquiao, he’s been dazed. “Manny hits hard,” he said. “On several occasions, my eyes got watery which is a sign that you’ve been buzzed. But in sparring, when Manny hurts you, he pulls back. Although Manny is a strong puncher, I think Zab Judah was the hardest hitter I’ve ever sparred with. Another fighter who buzzed me in sparring was Jessie Vargas. Zab’s father Yoel used to train me in New York. But I couldn’t stay in New York because living is too expensive there. I ended up in Las Vegas and my brother Cory is moving in with me. He just finished college and wants to help me out on the business end. My mother Kim is thinking of joining us in Las Vegas.”

Rhodes said it’s anybody’s guess what style Bradley will use against Pacquiao. “He boxed in the first fight and pressured in the second,” said Rhodes. “Freddie and I expected him to box in the second fight. Manny predicted he would pressure. Manny was right which shows you how smart he is as a fighter. Bradley pressured but it did him no good. I don’t know if he’ll box or pressure Manny in their third fight. Either way, he has no chance of winning.”

Rhodes, who was on his high school football and wrestling teams, said he’s never been cut or injured. “The worst thing that happened to me was I bruised the knuckles in my right hand when I kept hitting the skull of this opponent who put his head down whenever I got close,” he said. “Because of my wrestling background, I tried out MMA. I think boxing more than MMA has a long-term effect on fighters. In MMA, you get hit once, you go down and it’s over. In boxing, you get hit, get up and get hit again and again.”

As for a rematch between Pacquiao and Mayweather, Rhodes said he’d like to see it happen. “I thought Floyd won the first fight by a round,” he said. “It was that close. I was disappointed like everybody else that there wasn’t too much action. Floyd is hard to hit and it will take a very skilled fighter to beat him. Manny countered well and I thought he hurt Floyd at least twice. I expected more combinations and better footwork from Manny. I don’t know if they’ll ever fight again but I’d like to see a rematch.”

Rhodes said he’s aware that he fights like Bradley. “That’s why Freddie wants me to work with Manny,” he said. “But I don’t try to copy Bradley. Freddie wants me to fight my style. I box and pressure like Bradley. Freddie probably thinks if I try to copy Bradley, I won’t be myself and Freddie wants me to be myself sparring with Manny.”