Lydell Rhodes on Manny Pacquiao: ‘Avenging that loss only makes his legacy greater’

Manny Pacquiao following his victory over Tim Bradley on Saturday night (Photo: Chris Farina – Top Rank)

10PHOTOSSS

By Chris Robinson

Having shared some intimate moments with Manny Pacquiao as his chief sparring partner the past several weeks, Lydell Rhodes had as unique of a perspective as anyone as to the Filipino icon’s unanimous decision victory over Tim Bradley on Saturday night.

Clearly out slicking Bradley in the second half of their rematch inside of Las Vegas’ MGM Grand, Pacquiao showed that he still has a good deal left in his tank at 35 years old.

“I felt Manny did exactly what he needed to do to get the victory over a very game Tim Bradley,” Rhodes said of Pacquiao’s performance. “So my hat goes off to him, and avenging that loss only makes his legacy greater.”

Prior to the fight, Rhodes revealed to me that Pacquiao and his trainer Freddie Roach seemed to disagree as to which game plan Bradley would use in the fight. Pacquiao felt that Bradley would be fired up and came out swinging while Roach expected Tim to box and move.

Pacquiao was right, as Bradley fought like a pit bull in the trenches during the early rounds of the bout. And while that approach led to some exciting moments, Bradley ultimately would gas out and see the fight slip away as the championship rounds closed.

Still, Rhodes feels that Bradley’s aggressive mindset was necessary if he was to have any kind of success.

“I think he was effective at times doing that, and feel that was his only chance of winning,” Rhodes explained. “Boxing him at a distance was working but the rounds were close when he boxed and in close rounds everyone would favor Pacquiao because of the first fight. So at the end of the day I think he did the best strategy to get a clear cut winner and loser.”

As for Rhodes, he improved his record to 20-0 with 9 knockouts after scoring a harder than expected majority decision over Alejandro Rodriguez this past Friday night from the Mandalay Bay.

Rhodes is far from satisfied with his effort but knows it’s all part of his learning curve.

“It wasn’t good; I was a bit disappointed in my performance,” Rhodes stated. “I didn’t pull my weight right for the fight; I lost 15 pounds in two days to make weight so I was drained during the fight.

“So I’ve already begun to make healthy eating a part of my lifestyle so that doesn’t happen again,” Rhodes added. “But the biggest thing I learned was that I could overcome adversity and dig deep for that victory when I need to.”

*** Want more from Camp Pacquiao? Please click the thumbnails below…

Pacquiao_Bradley_140412_004a (3)

A ringside view of Manny Pacquiao’s big victory over Tim Bradley in thier rematch showdown this past Saturday night.

Click the thumbnail for more…

 

 

64-560x322

On Wednesday morning, Manny Pacquiao exuded a little bit of tranquility as he ran some laps with some members of his team at the UNLV track in Las Vegas, Nevada. Following his run, Pacquiao put in some strength and conditioning work and will be hosting the final press conference for his rematch with Tim Bradley later today at the MGM Grand.

Click on the thumbnail for a closer look..

 

9-560x262

“Photos from the Wild Card Boxing Club and other spots in Los Angeles as undefeated lightweight prospect Lydell Rhodes (19-0, 9 KO’s) enjoys his time as a chief sparring for eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao.

Check out the thumbnail on the left for an all-access look at Rhodes in training, running Griffith Park, chilling with Miguel Cotto, and more.”

 

*** FOR  A  BONUS VISIT back in Pacquiao’s career in photos, check the thumbnails below…

1-2 1-again 1-jmm (1)

1-jmm 1-kpo

Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *