Eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao and former four-division world champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner went face-to-face Wednesday in Las Vegas at the final press conference before they battle on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Broner has never been a fighter who lacked confidence, and he has a lot of confidence coming into this fight against Pacquaio.

“I’m not in awe of any fighter, especially Manny Pacquiao. I hope he’s in awe of me. I’m a one of a kind fighter too,” Broner said on Wednesday. “I’ve made history in this sport.

“I just have to go out and win this fight; then everything is going to start going my way. Saturday night, I will be victorious. This is a defining moment in my career, and it’s going to be one of the biggest nights of my life.

“Pacquiao hasn’t fought me, so I’m not worried about what he says about me right now. He’s going to have a different outlook after he fights me Saturday night.”

If all goes well for Broner, he is going to party hard in “Sin City.”

“I’m going to turn Las Vegas into a big block party after I win on Saturday night. It’s going to change my career,” Broner said.

“Manny Pacquiao has done a lot for the sport. I’m going to beat him up and have a drink with him afterward. I grew up in boxing, and I know what’s going on. It’s a business, but don’t get it twisted, I’m going to dominate and win.”

Broner could win on Saturday night, but he won’t dominate Pacquiao. This will be a very close fight. The biggest question is will Broner let his hands go, which has been an issue in previous fights. If he does, maybe he can pull off the upset. If not, he won’t beat Pacquiao on Saturday night.

 Photo: Esther Lin/SHOWTIME

On January 19, Pacquiao will end his two-year hiatus from a U.S. boxing ring when he returns to Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena to battle Adrien Broner.

The 40-year-old Pacquiao got his first stoppage victory since 2009 when he stopped Lucas Matthysse in seven rounds back in July 2018. Now, the big question is can Pacquiao continue to turn back the clock against Broner? Well, he believes he can.

“My journey in this sport is still continuing. I’ve accomplished everything I’ve wanted to, but I also want to continue to keep my name at the top,” Pacquiao said in Los Angeles on Wednesday. “Even at 40-years-old, I can still show the best of Manny Pacquiao. I’m going to give the fans the speed and power that they’re used to seeing.”

Recently, Pacquiao stated his goal was to stop Broner, which won’t be easy since Broner has never been stopped in his career; however, Pacquiao is training to get that done.

“On January 19 I’m going to do my best. I can’t say a prediction, but I’m going to do the same thing I did for my last fight. My trainers know how hard I’ve worked in this camp for this win.”

Pacquiao looked great against Matthysse, but a lot of people could have looked good against Matthysse on that night, so if Pacquiao is still Pacquiao, he should beat Broner, but if he’s not, we may have seen the last of him at that the top of the sport of boxing.

Photo: Esther Lin/SHOWTIME

Although he is a four-division world champion, we are still waiting for Adrien Broner to have that signature win. He will have an opportunity to get that signature victory when he battles Manny Pacquiao on January 19 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and airing on Showtime PPV.

This will be Broner’s first chance to headline a pay-per-view, and he believes if he can get the victory over Pacquiao, he will take over the sport of boxing.

“This is my first PPV, but I was always supposed to be here.  God doesn’t make mistakes.  After this victory, I will be taking over the sport of boxing. This is just the beginning,” Broner said on Wednesday.

“This win makes me an icon.  It makes me what I always wanted to be, and what everybody always thought I would be.  A win here and I’m a legend overnight.”

Broner has the ability, but against some of the better fighters in the sport(Marcos Maidana, Mikey Garcia, and Shawn Porter), he has come up short. However, he feels he has everything he needs to beat Pacquiao.

“It’s not a mystery – he’s been knocked out before.  Not once, not twice, but three times.  And he’s been put down a lot, too,” Broner said. “There are many blueprints to beat Manny.  I think I have all the tools to beat him.  I will show all the tools in my arsenal and show all the weaknesses in his.”

Can Broner win this fight? Sure, but we’ve heard this type of talk from him before, so who knows what to believe. January 19 will tell us a lot about Broner’s career moving forward.

Photo: Esther Lin/SHOWTIME

Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KOs), boxer laureate and the sweet science’s only eight-division world champion, has a goal.  That goal is to knock out his next opponent, Cincinnati’s Adrien “The Problem” Broner (33-3-1, 24 KOs), when they collide on Saturday, January 19, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Presented by Premier Boxing Champions, the Pacquiao vs. Broner WBA welterweight world championship event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.

“I am not making a prediction but my goal is to knock out Broner,” said Manny on Monday as he was wrapping his hands before starting a rigorous workout, which included 12 rounds of hitting the mitts with world-famous Freddie Roach, at Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club.  “I am looking for a knockout against Broner.  I have to maximize the opportunity.  I forgot how much fun winning a fight by knockout was until I stopped Lucas Matthyssee last summer to win the WBA welterweight title.  It felt great to win that way and the fans loved it too, so why not try for it again?   I have nothing personal against Adrien Broner.  This fight is strictly business.  He is fun.  He makes me laugh.  He knows how to sell himself and to sell a fight.”

It’s been strictly business tor Manny at Wild Card since beginning his U.S. training camp on Christmas Eve.  No shutdowns or holidays have kept him away.  After celebrating New Year’s Eve with a five-mile run up the hills to the Hollywood sign and 12-rounds of mitt work with Roach, Manny began 2019 the same way he ended 2018, only this time he sparred 12 rounds with three younger sparring partners in addition to a full session of bag work capped off with 1,000 sit-ups.

“He runs like a deer,” said Justin Fortune, who oversees Manny’s strength and conditioning.  “No one can keep up with him.  That’s the secret to his success — his work ethic and his stamina.  He has the strongest foundation of any fighter with whom I’ve worked.  His legs and calves still generate more power and speed than younger fighters.”

“I am very pleased with the training camp Manny has had.  His footwork, distance and angles are all coming together nicely,” said trainer Buboy Fernandez.  “When he hits the mitts it sounds like an explosion.  I have never felt such raw power.”

Photo: MP Promotions

The U.S. government may be shut down but for SENATOR MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO, boxing’s Commander in Chief, it has been full steam ahead, in his first U.S. training camp since 2016, at world-famous Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Calif.

“Training camp has been no day at Palm Beach for Manny or his sparring partners,” said Roach.  “You can tell that the word is leaking out on how strong Manny is looking in camp by the reaction on Wall Street yesterday.  Even the market is bullish on Manny.  I rate Manny as a strong buy at the MGM Grand’s Race & Sports book.”

Boxer laureate Manny Pacquiao is back!  Hailed as a national treasure by his fellow Filipinos, Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KOs), boxing’s only eight-division world champion and the BWAA’s reigning Fighter of the Decade, is in his most intense phase of training as he prepares for his WBA welterweight world title defense against four-division world champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner (33-3-1, 24 KOs), of Cincinnati.  Pacquiao vs. Broner takes place on Saturday, January 19, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.  It will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV® and presented by Premier Boxing Champions beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.

After arriving to a throng of media at LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal Saturday evening and attending church services with his family on Sunday, it was back to business on Monday morning where Manny greeted the sunrise with a five-mile run up the hills to the Hollywood sign immediately followed by a rigorous session of strength and conditioning with Justin Fortune.  The afternoon saw Buboy Fernandez put Manny through his paces for close to three hours at Wild Card.

On Christmas, after another long run and strength and conditioning in the morning, Manny sparred eight rounds with three different partners, followed by another hour of mitt work with Roach before he tore into the heavy bag.  Following his Wednesday run, Manny was greeted by a representative from VADA for a random drug test.  After his blood was taken, Manny cheerily predicted he would test positive for excellence.  Fernandez, sensing that jetlag was finally settling in, gave Manny the afternoon off to rest.

Today, Manny is scheduled for a full day of training, including eight to ten rounds of sparring, plus more.