On Pacquiao’s motivation:

“He’s coming to take me out. He’s got a huge fight looming over his head. The fight that everybody wants to see is Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

“But he’s got to deal with me on June 9, so that’s going to be a tough test. So I think that he’s going to be at his very, very best, and he’s definitely going to try to take me out of there early.”

On Pacquiao’s concern for Bradley’s past propensity for head butts:

“It has altered my preparation. I’m definitely trying to eliminate head butts. You know, throwing my shots before coming in with my head. Throwing my shots out and then stepping in as opposed to stepping in and then throwing my shots.

“I’ve been working on it in the gym, over and over and over. I’ve been very successful with it in sparring and keeping my balance. I’ve got great balance.

“I definitely don’t want this fight to end on a head butt. I don’t want a head butt or clash to happen. Because I don’t want any excuses at the end of the day.

“The fans pay to see a show, not a clash of heads and going to the scorecards after four rounds and picking a winner. That’s not how you do it, man.

“So I definitely have to try to avoid head butts and just be smart in there, man. That’s pretty much it. But it’s not going to take away from my game plan.

“I’m going to step inside and bang the body and apply the pressure that I normally do apply. I’m going to be aware like I was against Casamayor. I was aware and kept my head out of it.

On the notion of drug testing:

“It was never a thought in my mind going into this fight. It was never a thought in my mind to do the drug testing. Is it something that I would want? Sure, I’m a clean athlete. If you’re clean, you shouldn’t have a problem taking the test.

“Something in the future, you know, of course. When I signed for this fight, we didn’t really talk about that or negotiate any drug testing or anything like that. But I’m not worried at all.

“Pacquiao is Pacquiao, and he’s supposed to be a changed man, you know what I mean? So, I don’t know if he’s ever used steroids or not, because the biggest questions have been whether he would do the drug testing or not.

“But this guy is supposed to be completely different now, so I’m not worried. His last couple of performances haven’t been that great.”

On Pacquiao’s in-fighting ability:

“We’re working 50-50. Fifty percent on boxing, fifty percent on brawling…If I have to fight with in-fighting, then that’s what I’m going to do, because Pacquiao doesn’t fight well in-fighting.

“He doesn’t. You look at all of his fights, he doesn’t fight well inside. He throws flurries, combinations, and then he gets out. He steps out and throws and then comes back with a shot.

“He won’t stand there and bang. Maybe they’re working on it now, trying to back me up. But we’re aware of that and we’re aware of anything. Maybe he will come forward and try to bang me out.

“Then, that’s when I’ll box him. I’m very schooled. I know when to box and I know when to brawl, and I’ve just got to put it all together. Plain and simple.”

On why Marquez fell short against Pacquiao:

“Marquez stepped back and counter punched but he didn’t get the decision because it didn’t seem like he wanted to win. If you want to win the championship, you’ve got to take it to the champion.

“You’ve got to make a fight out of it. If Marquez would have stepped up, grabbed his balls and stepped to Pacquiao and made a fight out of it, and win the last couple of rounds, he probably would have won.

“But he didn’t do that. He laid back and let Pacquiao control the tempo and control the action, and Pacquiao ended up winning those rounds. So, it’s just a mixture of things.

“One thing that I do know is that I know how to win. I know when I’m down and I know how to pick it up. I just need to know how to make adjustments in the ring. I’m good at that.”

On the potential for rising from a knockdown against Pacquiao:

“I’ve been on the canvas before. It’s nothing new to me. I’ve been down and I know what it feels like and I’m going to get up and fight to the end, man.”

On his already-planned post-fight celebration party, which Top Rank CEO Bob Arum confirmed:

“Yeah, I’m confident, man. I’m so confident, man, I’m just ready. I’m in the best shape of my life. I done put in the work, and I’ve put the time into the gym, I’ve studied film, and I’ve been on this course for the last four years, man. I’ve been studying this guy, I’ve admired this guy, I’ve been watching this guy, it’s just my time, man.

“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime and I’m ready 110 percent. I’m putting it all on the line. So you’re going to see a great fight. If you miss this fight, you’re going to miss some greatness, I’m telling you, because you’re going to see a fight. At the end of the day, I’m putting it all on the line.

“I’m not in there to survive, I’m not in there for a paycheck, I’m in there to win. This is the beginning of my new career. This is like my first fight all over again. This is definitely going to be the start of it. That’s the reason why I signed with Top Rank, is because they build superstars. This is my opportunity right here.”

Photos by Chris Farina, Top Rank

Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]