By Jake Donovan
Tim Bradley isn’t the type to carry a beef when it comes to an upcoming opponent. In preparing for his December 13 showdown with Diego Chaves, however, he admits to allowing beef into his routine.
Traditionally a Vegan since arriving on the championship stage more than seven years ago, Bradley has expanded his diet to allow for greater protein intake as he returns to the ring for the first time since his rematch loss to Manny Pacquiao in April. The setback marked his first pro defeat, thus also ending a welterweight title reign that began with a disputed win over Pacquiao in June ’12.
Although the wins kept coming, another constant was the sculpted Californian suffering injuries in each bout. In efforts to return to the win column, Bradley wants to guarantee that he comes in at full-strength for what he expects to be a rough-and-tumble affair.
“The Vegan diet, I have a lot of energy on that diet and able to lose weight. It’s clean living. But I’ve been getting injured,” Bradley (31-1, 12KOs) reveals of the one downside he’s experienced in living a healthier lifestyle. “In the Pacquiao fight I tore my calf.
“I did some research and thought maybe I need to consume some more protein. I sought how to get more protein in me. I’m still eating cleanly, but adding chicken, fish, and eating steak once per week. I’m actually eating fish, eating meat and feeling fantastic. I’m really excited about this opportunity.”
Bradley has long served as a model for clean athletes, both in and out of the ring. In addition to the Vegan lifestyle he’s implemented in past training camps, the former two-division champ has also fully embraced the concept of random drug testing.
While the intention is to still serve as among the sport’s cleanest combatants, Bradley is ready to try something new as he pursues a third title run.
“It’s been since (2008), right when I won the title, I started training Vegan. I wouldn’t do that all the time. I would switch over to Vegan when training for a fight. I’ve done it more than (six) years. The (Ruslan) Provodnikov fight (in March ’13, in which Bradley was dropped and concussed in scoring a narrow points win in what went on to become Fight of the Year) and this fight I’m not a Vegan.
“I enjoy (the Vegan lifestyle)… but I feel like I gained more muscle (for this camp). It’s harder to drop the weight. (On Friday) I’ll be 152 lb. When I’m Vegan I have to get injections on B-12. I’m sick of that, the synthetic form of B-12. I’d rather just go the way God intended. Sometimes when I’m Vegan, I can feel myself tearing down.”
The Bradley-Chaves welterweight bout headlines an HBO-televised tripleheader at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
