By Jake Donovan

Perhaps it was the two days he had to think about his epic rant that would eventually go viral. Perhaps it was the high praised upon him by Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum prior to introducing him to the podium during Thursday’s pre-fight press conference.

Whatever the case, Tim Bradley was in a better mood two days prior to his upcoming showdown with unbeaten Jessie Vargas than was the case earlier in the week.

Top Rank—the Las Vegas-based promotional outfit which represents both fighters—did its part to hype up Saturday’s showdown at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., which airs live on HBO (9:45 p.m. ET/6:45 p.m. local time). A video and press release were distributed to the media, complete with a minute-long outburst from Bradley , in response to claims from Vargas’ camp—primarily former four-division champ Erik Morales, who now trains the undefeated 140 lb. titlist moving up in weight—that his best years are past him.

“Jessie Vargas? I’m going to whup his ass on Saturday! And if [trainer Erik] Morales got a problem and he wants some he can get some at the end of the year too,” Bradley claimed earlier this week when approached with the subject. “I got two fights this year, this is my first fight. I’m going to beat his boy, then I can come back and I’ll beat [Morales’] behind. He can come out of retirement. Whatever weight, we can fight at catchweight, it really don’t matter—154 pounds, whatever. If you want to fight at 200 (lbs.) we can fight there, and I’mma whup your ass next!

“If you want to talk, go ahead and talk. Trainers… they supposed to stay neutral, “My fighter’s gonna win,” and all that. But when you start talking shit, when you start talking garbage and nonsense… that’s what gets under my skin. I’m fired up for this! Thank you for keep firing me up. Guess what? That Saturday night is going to be a good night. It’s going to be a good night for Team Bradley. I’m going to walk out that ring with another belt strapped around me.”

The stoic look on Bradley’s face for much of Thursday’s press session in Los Angeles suggested he still harbored resentment. That tune quickly changed once it was his turn to speak, taking back most of what he said, save for the part where he plans to win the vacant welterweight title at stake in Saturday’s bout.

“I have nothing against this team,” Bradley (29-1-1, 11KOs) said to the assembled media in attendance in his best efforts to clear the air. “What happened two days ago on that rant—I was just getting out my car. I’m hungry; I’m tired; I got to take a piss… and I hear that someone saying something negative about my team.

“When I went off on that rant, I was angry at the time. But there’s no disrespect. There’s no bad blood. I respect everyone on that side of the dais—Jessie Vargas, Erik Morales, the great Hall of Fame fighter Erik Morales. There’s no bad blood here.”

The welterweight bout will headline a televised doubleheader on HBO. Opening the telecast, unbeaten featherweight prospect Oscar Valdez—a two-time Olympian for his native Mexico—faces countryman Ruben Tamayo in what marks the 1,000th fight to be televised by HBO, and its 60th live boxing broadcast from California.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox