American Idol’s JESSICA SANCHEZ is confirmed to sing the National Anthem of the Philippines before the world welterweight championship rematch between Fighter of the Decade Manny Pacquiao and undefeated two-division world championTimothy Bradley. Pacquiao-Bradley 2 will take place SATURDAY, APRIL 12, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. It will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
Sanchez sang the U.S. National Anthem before Pacquiao vs. Bradley in 2012 and the National Anthems of the U.S. and the Philippines last November before Pacquiao vs. Brandon Rios in Macau, China During Pacquiao – Rios Fight Week, Jessica released her single, “Lead Me Home,” and announced that all the proceeds would be donated to Typhoon Relief. Immediately following the Pacquiao-Rios fight, she embarked on a two-week charity trip to the Philippines with the Starkey Foundation where Pacquiao joined her.
The 18-year-old San Diegan was the runner-up in the 11th season of television’s No. 1 rated show, AMERICAN IDOL on FOX. Sanchez quickly became a fan favorite that season with her powerhouse vocals, often garnering high praise from the judges each week.
Prior to IDOL, Sanchez competed on the first season of AMERICA’S GOT TALENT when she was only 11 years old.
Her album’s release, Me, You & the Music, in spring 2013, debuted at No. 8 on the pop charts and she joined the cast of Glee as a guest star for the season finale. Sanchez is ecstatic to share her own music with the world.
Pound for pound titans PACQUIAO (55-5-2, 38 KOs), the lone congressional representative from the Sarangani Province in the Philippines, and defending world champion BRADLEY (31-0, 12 KOs), of Palm Springs, Calif., will go mano a mano in their eagerly-anticipated WBO welterweight championship rematch. This will also be Pacquiao’s first fight in the U.S. since 2012.
When Pacquiao and Bradley 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.
24/7 Pacquiao/Bradley 2 premieres Saturday, March 29 at Midnight ET/PT on HBO. Show 2 debuts Saturday, April 5 at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT and show 3 debuts Thursday, April 10 at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT two nights before the high stakes welterweight title bout.
Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with MP Promotions and Tecate, remaining tickets for Pacquiao vs. Bradley 2 are priced at $1,000, $800, $600, $400, $250 and $150, not including applicable service charges. There will be a total ticket limit of 12 per person with a limit of 10 per person at the $1,000, $800, $600, $400 and $250 price levels and a limit of two (2) per person at the $150 price level. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets will also be available for purchase at WWW.MGMGRAND.COM or WWW.TICKETMASTER.COM.
For fight updates go to WWW.TOPRANK.COM, or WWW.HBO.COM/BOXING, on Facebook atFACEBOOK.COM/TRBOXING, FACEBOOK.COM/TRBOXEO, or FACEBOOK.COM/HBOBOXING, and on Twitter atTWITTER.COM/TRBOXING, TWITTER.COM/TRBOXEO, or TWITTER.COM/HBOBOXING. Use the Hashtag #PacBradley to join the conversation on Twitter.
