‘Hurricane' anticipates repeat performance

LAS VEGAS – Former two-time WBO/IBA female superbantamweight champion Ana (Hurricane) Julaton isn’t holding her breath to be surprised when Manny Pacquiao takes on Timothy Bradley in a bid to regain the WBO welterweight title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena here Saturday night (Sunday morning, Manila time).

 Julaton, 33, said she expects a repeat of what happened in their first fight except it will be Pacquiao winning the decision this time. Two years ago, Pacquiao clearly outfought Bradley but two of the three judges scored it for the Desert Storm in a shocking reversal. Julaton said Pacquiao won’t be robbed in the rematch.

 â€œManny and Bradley have fought twice since their first bout,” said Julaton. “Even though Bradley has won twice, he wasn’t impressive. He was beaten up by (Ruslan) Provodnikov and he defeated a faded (Juan Manuel) Marquez who showed no speed and no power. On the other hand, Manny bounced back from losing to Marquez by dominating (Brandon) Rios. I believe Manny beat Bradley the first time so it will be easier for Manny the second time around. Bradley’s a smart fighter but he can’t match Manny’s speed. I don’t expect anything new from Bradley.”

 Julaton said Bradley will lean on movement to stay away from Pacquiao. “It won’t take long for Manny to figure Bradley out,” she said. “Manny will know what to do to take care of business. I think he’ll win by decision. That’s because Bradley won’t engage.”

 Julaton said she may not be at the venue to watch the fight. “Right now, I’m focusing on my training,” she said. “I’d love to show support for Manny but I might just stay home and watch on TV. I’m really excited about my next fight which will be with OneFC, a mixed martial arts organization based in Singapore. There’s no room for error in my training. I’m working with three coaches in the gym, Jason Manly for jiu jitsu, Angelo (Reyes) for striking and Chris Ben-Tchavase for grappling.”

 No opponent has been announced for Julaton but she said that’s no problem. “That’s how it is in MMA,” she said. “OneFC has a roster of fighters and they’ll pull one out for me. What I’m excited about is fighting in Manila on May 2. It’s a dream come true for me. That’s what I’ve been working so hard for. I’m grateful that my manager (Allan Tremblay) and OneFC’s Victor Cui gave me this opportunity. MMA and boxing are equally tough. MMA gives you all the variations of combat. Boxing makes you use your two hands. Even if I’m doing MMA, I won’t leave boxing. I’m not done with boxing. I want my revenge. I want a rematch with Lisa Brown and Yesica Marcos. Allan has booked me for a boxing bout on May 29 in New York so it’ll be a busy month for me. I haven’t fought since beating Perla Hernandez last November so I’m raring to go.”

 Julaton’s chief cornerman Angelo Reyes said he thought a rematch with either Marcos or Brown would’ve been a perfect addition in the Pacquiao-Bradley undercard considering the “revenge” theme. But fighting at the Mall of Asia Arena is an awesome opportunity, he added.

 â€œIt’s a homecoming for Ana,” said Reyes. “I remember when Ana fought Marcos in Argentina, there were 40,000 people against her. Now, there will be 20,000 people for her in Manila. Ana is preparing hard to execute everything in her mixed martial arts arsenal – taekwondo, kenpo, jiu jitsu, boxing, wrestling, karate. We don’t want to be surprised. Chris (Ben-Tchavatse) has worked with a lot of MMA fighters including Gina Carano. I’ll take care of the striking end with my kenpo, karate and boxing background. Ana’s MMA style is free style with an emphasis on striking. Remember she’s been trained by Freddie Roach for most of her boxing career and won her world title with him.”

 Reyes said martial arts is in Julaton’s blood. “Ana began martial arts with her father who was a Wing Chun practitioner for over 20 years,” he continued. “During the recent holidays, Ana spent a great amount of time with her father to refocus some of her Wing Chun training. Ana is one of the few athletes in the world talented enough to become a dual sports sensation like Bo Jackson was for football and baseball.”

 Reyes said after Julaton was cut near the eye in beating Hernandez, she was advised to refrain from sparring until February so the break allowed her to do other forms of combat training. “Chris has been a huge influence,” he said. “Then, we’ve got Jason for jiu jitsu. Jason comes from the Reign Training Center. We’re thankful to Mr. Cui and OneFC for giving Ana a chance to compete in MMA and stay in boxing.  She’s actually an exception because as you know, MMA organizations operate like the NBA where they have the exclusive rights to their fighters.”

 Julaton will make her OneFC debut as a flyweight (limit of 125 pounds for MMA).