GOBBLER’S KNOB, (Groundhog Day 2014) — At approximately 7:25 A.M. ET today, Punxsutawney Phil — the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of Prognosticators — emerged from his burrow at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, PA, and proclaimed, in his native Groundhogese, that Fighter of the Decade MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO would regain the WBO welterweight title when he rumbles again with undefeated defending world champion TIMOTHY “Desert Storm” BRADLEY on Saturday, April 12, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas., Nev. Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with MP Promotions and Tecate, the world welterweight championship rematch between these pound-for-pound titans will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT.

“Without a shadow of a doubt, Bradley is going to get iced — Manila Iced — when he faces the Pacquiao Polar Vortex,” said the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound quadruped during his annual news conference. “Pacquiao is going to Arctic blast Bradley off his world championship throne. Can Bradley win the rematch? He has a better shot of making it across the George Washington Bridge from Fort Lee in one day.”

Wearing a traditional Barong, El PHILipino was headed to Pittsburgh International Airport to catch a flight to Los Angeles International Airport where he will join members of the Pacman Nation in welcoming boxing’s only eight-division world champion when he arrives today on Philippine Airlines flight 102 at 6:40 p.m. PT.

When pressed for a definitive answer on whether Bradley had a chance to defeat Pacquiao, Phil astounded the media by answering in Tagalog and in English.

Quoth the groundhog, “Hinding-hindi na. Nevermore.”

**********************************************

When Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KOs), the lone congressional representative from the Sarangani Province of the Philippines, and Bradley (31-0, 12 KOs), of Palm Springs, Calif., rumbled the first time, on June 9, 2012 at MGM Grand, Bradley’s hand was raised via a controversial split decision, ending Pacquiao’s welterweight title reign as well as his seven-year, 15-bout winning streak. Though both fighters claimed victory neither was satisfied. Destiny may have played a hand in their first battle but it will be survival of the fittest that determines the winner of this exciting rematch.

Both fighters will be hosting press conferences announcing their rematch fight this week in Los Angeles on Tuesday and New York on Thursday .

For fight updates go to www.toprank.com, or www.hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/trboxing, facebook.com/trboxeo, or facebook.com/hboboxing, and on Twitter at twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, or twitter.com/hboboxing. Use the Hashtag #PacBradley to join the conversation on Twitter.

Rematches can be predictable remakes, or tiresome redundancies, or just unnecessary. But Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley is none of the above. It had to happen.

In some ways, April 12 is more of a resumption than a rematch of Bradley’s rancorous split-decision over Pacquiao on June 9, 2012. Once the controversy subsided to a dull roar, only questions were left in the debris. If this were business as usual, there would be no answers and only the futility that surrounds the never-never land of a Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. possibility.

But Pacquiao and Bradley will pick up where they left off in the same MGM Grand ring where their first chapter ended in what ranks as boxing’s noisiest controversy during the Twitter era.

Economics and a collection of dwindling options probably had more to do with the agreement than anything. Robert Guerrero’s name popped up as a Pacquiao possibility, but Bob Arum quickly dismissed that one.

If Arum hopes to re-affirm Pacquaio as a pay-per-view star after a reported audience of 475,000-to-500,000 bought his victory in China over Brandon Rios, he needed an attraction. Guerrero would have been a tune-up, another Rios. But a rematch with Bradley represents compelling drama with stage and story already in place.

It’s a dangerous fight, especially for Pacquiao. Most of the momentum appears to be with Bradley. In announcing the rematch, Arum called Bradley a different guy. In the public eye, he is. He underwent a remarkable transformation in the months since he was unfairly portrayed as a villain for the scorecards that gave him the debatable decision over Pacquiao.

He displayed courage in beating former Pacquiao sparring partner Ruslan Provodnikov in the 2013 Fight of the Year. Then, there was his poise and patience in outworking Juan Manuel Marquez, whose one-handed stoppage of Pacquiao in December 2012 put him face down and face-to-face with doubts the Filipino has yet to knock out. He looked good in scoring a decision over Rios in November. Only against Bradley, however, can he really prove he’s still the whirlwind we remember.

There’s plenty of uncertainty about whether he can. Indications are that Pacquaio will be about 7-4 favorite. At opening bell in 2012, he was favored 4 ½-to-1. If the speed and angles employed by Pacquaio in the first fight are still there, Bradley is in trouble. At least, that’s the theory.

But a couple of things happened in 2012 . Bradley suffered injuries to both ankles then. He showed up at the post-fight news conference in a wheel chair. In a sport that has seen it all, there’s no record of the winner ever addressing the media while confined to a wheel chair.

It’s fair to assume that Bradley’s ankles will hold up this time around. What happens then? Bradley without limits on his mobility has a much better chance in what figures to be another close fight.

Meanwhile, close fights have become a Bradley trademark, if not identity. He’s won each of his last three by narrow decision – Pacquiao and Marquez by split and Provodnikov by one point on two cards and three on the third. Debate the scoring all you want, but they add up to a resiliency. The unbeaten Bradley finds a way. He’s a survivor, which means he won’t waste a second chance.

Pacquiao’s motivation is no secret. He has a right to think he was robbed in 2012. He’s anxious to correct the record, to claim what should have been his all long. That’s an intangible, yet powerful. Still, it’s hard to get a good read on just who Pacquiao is these days. There’s been plenty of evidence he has lost some speed and power. To wit: The Pacquaio of old would have stopped Rios within five rounds.

There’s also talk about money problems and reports about tax issues. Who really knows? But know this: Pacquiao could have told Arum to put a hold on Bradley. He could have demanded Guerrero in a dull, yet safe step that might have kept alive talk about Mayweather, who started his Showtime contract with tune-up victory over Guerrero.

Pacquiao’s contract with Arum is set to expire at the end of 2014. Could Arum have said no? Pacquiao apparently listened to Arum. In terms of the bottom line, Bradley makes sense. In terms of Pacquaio’s career, there was no other choice. He had to pick Bradley if he wanted the public to take him seriously. But it’s very dangerous. So know this too:

Pacquiao has a history of agreeing to perilous rematches. He gave Marquez three extra chances when he really didn’t have to. The third chance proved devastating. But it was also fair and fearless, just two more elements in a series that has it all and begs for more.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the complete televised undercard for the April 12th rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley has been set.

In a WBA Super Lightweight title bout Khabin Allekhverdiev will defend against Jesse Vargas. Ray Beltran will take on Roman Martinez in a Lightweight bout and Bryan Vazquez will defend an interim 130 lb title against Jose Felix Jr.

“All three of them are competitive fights,” said promoter Bob Arum said. “So I guess whichever fight the press and the fans seem like most is the one we’ll make the semifinal. I think they’re all good fights. Beltran-Martinez is the one I want to see more than the others, so we’ll see if the press and the fans agree with me. But overall, I think we’re looking at some good, entertaining fights on the card.”

“This (Beltran – Martinez) is a really interesting crossroads fight,” said Top Rank’s Moretti said. “Both guys have had wars with Burns. Neither guy has ever been in a bad fight. Beltran is a strong puncher who makes good fights. Rocky has been in a lot of good fights. I expect fireworks. I wouldn’t be shocked if both guys hit the canvas.”

On Allekhverdiev – Vargas:

“This is the first chance we’ve had to expose Khabib in the United States since we signed him because of the injury and the mandatory, and he’s in with Jessie, who is dropping back down to 140 pounds,” Moretti said. “It’s an interesting matchup. The winner is probably going to get a big payday after this fight.

“I’ve seen Khabib on tape. He’s a very competent fighter and [Top Rank matchmaker] Brad [Goodman] has watched Vargas train in the gym and thinks he is doing marvelously,” Arum said. “We could see an upset.”

“We believe Jose Felix’s stock is on the rise,” Moretti said. “Hopefully, the card on April 12 will provide him a platform to show what he has against a more experienced, action fighter in Bryan Vasquez.”

NEW YORK (January 25, 2014) – Bob Arum and Todd duBoef, CEO and President of Top Rank, respectively, and Michael Koncz of MP Promotions are pleased to announce that an agreement was reached today for undefeated two-division world champion TIMOTHY “Desert Storm” BRADLEY to defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title against Fighter of the Decade Congressman MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO. Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with MP Promotions and Tecate, Pacquiao-Bradley 2 will take place, Saturday, April 12, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. It will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View.

Both fighters and their teams will embark on a U.S. media tour the week of February 3, including press conferences in Los Angeles and New York on Tuesday, February 4 and Thursday, February 6, respectively. Ticket information and other details on the promotion and the media tour will be released shortly.

When Pacquiao and Bradley rumbled the first time, on June 9, 2012 at the MGM Grand, Bradley’s hand was raised via a controversial split decision, ending Pacquiao’s welterweight title reign as well as his seven-year, 15-bout winning streak. Though both fighters claimed victory neither was satisfied. Destiny may have played a hand in their first battle but it will be survival of the fittest that determines the winner of this exciting rematch.

Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KOs), the lone congressional representative from the Sarangani province in the Philippines (he was reelected to a second term, running unopposed last year), is the only fighter to win eight world titles in as many different weight divisions. A three-time Fighter of the Year and the Boxing Writers Association of America’s “Fighter of the Decade,” Pacquiao’s resumé features victories over future Hall of Famers, including Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel Márquez. From 2008 to 2010, five of his seven victories were world title victories in five different weight classes, from 130 to 154 pounds. No active boxer has sold more live tickets in the U.S. than Pacquiao, who is also credited with over eight million pay-per-view buys. He returns to the ring after a scintillating beatdown of former world champion Brandon Rios.

Bradley (31-0, 12 KOs), from Palm Springs, Calif., a two-division world champion who unified the junior welterweight titles twice during his previous four-year reign, returns to the ring after three consecutive career-best victories. After moving up in weight and beating Pacquiao in 2012, Bradley co-starred in the 2013 Fight of the Year last March, winning a brutal 12-round decision over Ruslan Provodnikov though Bradley was suffering from a concussion throughout most of the fight. In his most recent fight, in October, Bradley gave a virtuoso performance in defeating three-division world champion and Mexican icon Juan Manuel Márquez proving that Bradley is indeed one of boxing’s elite pound for pound fighters.