By Luis Sandoval
WBO Welterweight champion Timothy Bradley has been haunted for almost 2 years by the controversial victory he scored over Manny Pacquiao back in the summer of 2012.
What was supposed to be one of the greatest moments of his boxing career turned into one of the worst as his victory was soured by the outcry of robbery and not getting credit for the win he was awarded by 2 ringside judges.
This rematch between Bradley and Pacquiao is important for both fighters but for Bradley, this is his chance and opportunity to finally clear all the doubt and controversy that has followed him. When BoxingScene caught up with Bradley at his media workout in Hollywood, he stated this was the fight he cared most about in his entire career.
“[Winning is] the only thing that matters. I’ve said over and over to my team: I said this fight is the only fight I care about in my whole career. I don’t ever have to lace up another pair of gloves again if I didn’t choose to do it; if I didn’t want to do it after I win this fight. Because it’s that important to me. It’s a must win fight for me” Bradley would tell BoxingScene and other members of the media.
Bradley had a stellar year in 2013 where he not only added Ruslan Provonikov and future hall of famer Juan Manuel Marquez to his resume, he also took home the honor of being in 2013’s Fight of the Year when he defeated Provodnikov.
While Bradley acknowledges he’s at the peak of his prime and still has a lot left to do before his career is done, he doesn’t see anything ever being as big as getting this victory over Pacquiao.
“I have to win this fight and I’m going to win this fight and anything after that is just gravy. Anything after this is just gravy. It’s just icing on the cake for me man. This is the top for me. Manny Pacquiao has done so much in the sport of boxing. He’s a living legend and still fighting and to beat a guy like him and to get the fans approval and to get the world’s approval – I mean that’s good enough for me man. That [they say] ‘hey, Bradley beat him. He’s a true fighter, he’s a true champion and that’s one hell of a team he has. Congratulations to Tim Bradley’” said the reigning WBO Welterweight champion.
Bradley was in tremendous shape as usual and has assured this training camp has been vigorous with trainer Joel Diaz pushing him harder than ever before. For Tim Bradley, April 12th will either be the biggest milestone of his career or a missed chance at redemption; I can’t wait to find out.
You can follow Luis Sandoval on Twitter & Instagram @Truewest007
