Adrien Broner ready for war vs Manny Pacquiao

MANILA, Philippines — Adrien Broner has put on his game face two months before his WBA welterweight title showdown with Manny Pacquiao.

“I will be war ready,” said Broner, 29, on Instagram, his short message accompanied by a video of him while in training.

Broner, a four-division world champion, used the hashtags “MannyVsAB and #VegasJan19, indicating that the fight is on.

If plans push through, Pacquiao and Broner will come face to face in a two-city press tour later next week.

Meanwhile, renowned boxing trainer and analyst Teddy Atlas, who calls it the way he sees it, said Broner will be a real test for Pacquiao.

Atlas said Broner is not Lucas Matthysse, whom Pacquiao stopped in seven rounds last July 15 in Kuala Lumpur.

That fight, according to Atlas, is not indicative of Pacquiao’s current status as a boxer, despite the fact that he’s the current champion.

Atlas described Matthysse as a “heavy (punching) bag” and did not come to fight, “a passive guy who looked like he was just getting paid.”

“Matthysse had nothing left. Don’t go by that,” Atlas told ESNews earlier this week.

“I don’t know how much Pacquiao (who turns 40 on Dec. 17) has left but you might find out in the Broner fight because Broner is young enough, physical enough, talented enough and fast enough,” he said.

Atlas had worked a handful  of Pacquiao fights from the broadcast panel, and in 2016 he trained Timothy Bradley for the third showdown with the Filipino.

Atlas has no problem saying what he thinks is right.

In 2017, when Pacquiao dropped a very controversial decision to Jeff Horn in Brisbane, Atlas did not hide his displeasure of the officiating.

Atlas told Horn straight to his face, “Congratulations. Great effort. I thought you lost. But great effort.”

This time, Atlas is telling fight fans that what they saw in Pacquiao against Matthysse is not exactly what they’re going to see against Broner.

That’s how Atlas sees it.