WBO junior welterweight (140 pounds) king Tim Bradley has transformed from a soft-talking prospect to a trash-talking fighter considered by many to be among boxing's premier boxers, pound-for-pound.
"There were a lot of things that I wouldn't say in the past because I wanted to stay humble. I'm still humble, but I'm at the point where I know who I am, and that I'm not going to let anybody just disrespect me. I'm going to talk," said Bradley, who is 25-0 with 11 knockouts.
"I pick and choose my battles, but I know that I'm capable in the ring. I know that I'm a good fighter. I know that I'm an elite fighter. So when you hear me talking, I'm just being myself," said Bradley. "I'm a man, you know? And if you say something bad about me, I'll say something bad about you. I've set boundaries. I had a habit of just laying back, but now, I'm stepping up. I'm not letting people run all over me. I had to change that about me."
Most recently, Bradley took issue with an assertion from Top Rank Promotions CEO Bob Arum that he would not be a good rival for seven-division champion Manny Pacquiao
(51-3-2, 38 knockouts), holder of the WBO welterweight (147 pounds) title. "I know that Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, said that I'm not a household name, and that I wouldn't be a good fight for Manny. Not yet, at least. But I don't let that bother me at all," said Bradley, who has an HBO-televised, July 17 bout opposite welterweight Luis Carlos Abregu (29-0, 23 KOs) of Salta Salta, Argentina.
Bradley-Abregu is a non-title, over the limit bout that is slated for the Agua Caliente Casino, in Rancho Mirage, Calif., near Bradley's hometown of Palm Springs, Calif.
"As long as I keep on winning, then everything will continue to take care of itself," said the 26-year-old Bradley. "And if Manny Pacquiao's still going to still be in the game, then, it's going to be inevitable that he will have to fight me. Trust me. The fight fans, the media, everyone will be calling for the fight."
Nicknamed "The Desert Storm," Bradley has had to literally build his own reputation from the ground up.
Among Bradley's earliest signs of showing grit and determination were during an April 2009 unanimous decision win over Kendall Holt, where he twice rose from the canvas before emerging victorious.
Bradley also has earned a May 2008 split-decision over England's Junior Witter, handing Witter only his second setback in 40 bouts with the other being a decision loss to two-time former world champion Zab Judah.
Bradley is coming off of December's 12-round, unanimous decision victory over Lamont Peterson (28-1, 14 KOs), of Washington, D.C., whom Bradley dropped for the first time in his career.
It is the Peterson fight which officially put Bradley on the map and which changed him as a fighter, if not a person.
"They saw a different fighter in that ring against Lamont Peterson. Lamont Peterson came to fight and everything, but he just brought out the best in me that night. The best fighters in the world, that's what they do for me. They bring the best out of me. I love to rise to the occasion, and that's what I did in that fight," said Bradley.
"Overnight, things changed for me with the Lamont Peterson fight. Now I'm fighting for HBO, and the fighters are respecting me, and the fight game is finally giving me respect," said Bradley. "Like I've been checking out all of the websites, and the boxing writers are finally putting me into their rankings. They're putting me in their top 10, pound-for-pound, and I can't believe it. But it's true. I am the truth, and people are finding that out about me now."
In signing with the HBO network, Bradley joined contracted fighters such as WBC and IBF king Devon Alexander (20-0, 13 KOs), WBA titlist Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KOs), and, WBA interim champion, Marcos Rene Maidana (28-1, 27 KOs), among others.
"There is a little added pressure to back it up, you know? Because you don't want people to be saying, 'You know, we thought that this kid was the real deal, but we were wrong.' But my job is to just go out there and win, and to try not to get caught up in all of that. It used to be where I didn't want to let anyone down, didn't want to make any mistakes, but now, I've matured," said Bradley.
"It used to take me a while to open up when all of this was new to me. But I feel like after the Lamont Peterson fight, I've finally come into my own.
I'm finally realizing who I am and what I can do," said Bradley. "That's why I want you to see me in the ring with fighters like Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao. I know that if that happens, then you will see the best out of Timothy Bradley that night."
Bradley is hoping for an HBO-televised Jan 29 bout opposite Alexander, which would take place the day before the NFL's 2011 Super Bowl. But Bradley-Alexander is contingent on each of the youngsters winning big fights over the course of the summer.
First, Bradley must defeat Abregu. And then Alexander, a 23-year-old southpaw, has an HBO-televised Aug. 7, second defense of his WBC title -- and the first of his IBF crown -- against former WBA titlist Andriy Kotelnik (31-3-1, 13 KOs) before his hometown fans in St. Louis, Mo.
"I think that everybody will be calling for this fight between myself and Devon Alexader by that time, just like they're calling for the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight right now. I think that it's at the point where everybody just wants to see us fight. I believe that it's going to happen," said Bradley.
"Just know that I'm on a mission to get into the ring with all of the best guys. I'm going to continue to win, and I'm going to continue to dominate," said Bradley. "If these guys don't want to let me in, then I'll start my own legacy. I'm going to continue on my path and start my own legacy. I'm just going to fight everybody and beat everybody."
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
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