Doubt always fed Timothy Bradley. It has plagued him, shadowed, it seems, every move he has ever made in and around a boxing ring. It has fueled his confidence and motivation. It has been an anchor he has had to lug throughout much of his career. But it never deterred him.
Even Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) admits it.
“Bradley is different,” he said. “He improved a lot. It’s not the same as the other two fights.”
Bradley won the first fight in 2012, though it came as the result of a highly controversial split decision. It was avenged convincingly by Pacquiao in 2014. When Pacquiao-Bradley 3 was rumored to be happening, it was initially greeted with derision. Fight fans thought they had seen this act before. Why do it again? Not so fast, warns Bradley.
“I think it’s different now, I honestly do,” the 32-year-old said. “I think this fight will definitely be different than the first two altercations that we’ve had. That’s all I can say. I think it’ll be a great fight. It’s about me; that’s what it’s about. If I’m fundamentally sound, if I’m technically sound, if I limit those mistakes that I used to do, those mortal sins, and I have great technique, I should win the fight even without a game plan. I feel that confident.”
Atlas feels the saw way. The renowned trainer said Bradley, who burst upon the world scene by beating Junior Witter for the WBC super lightweight title in Nottingham, England, has always possessed the talent of a champion and that he really has not added any dimensions. The fighter Bradley is presently is the fighter he has always been, Atlas maintains.
“Tim is the difference,” Atlas said. “He’s the one who has done what it takes to get to this point. He’s the one who puts in the work. If he’s better, it’s because of what he’s done, not what I’ve done.”
Hall-of-fame promoter Bob Arum has a keen eye. He felt he saw a spark when Bradley dismantled the rugged Brandon Rios back on Nov. 7, winning by ninth-round TKO. It was the first fight Bradley and Atlas worked with each other since “Desert Storm” opted to replace his longtime trainer, Joel Diaz, in September.
“Tim Bradley was always a great fighter,” Arum said. “He always gave 120 percent in the ring, but I don’t think anybody can doubt that he showed in his last fight that he’s an even better fighter than he has been previously. As good as he was, he was better, and he showed better strategy and his skills in that fight that he had in November in Las Vegas against Brandon Rios.”
The naysayers will undoubtedly surface again. Bradley knows it.
“The pressure is on [Pacquiao], though,” Bradley said. “He still feels he has something to prove after losing to [Floyd] Mayweather. He’s older. The question is for him because this is his last fight, not mine. My career goes on after this. It is his last fight, so what does that mean to him, if it is his last fight? I respect Manny. He’s done great things for boxing, but he’s the one who handed me my first defeat. You don’t forget those things. So believe me, I’m a different Tim Bradley now. I’m more poised, wiser. Beating Rios the way I did I think opened a lot of eyes. Teddy Atlas thought the same. That changed a lot of things, too, the dynamics of everything, the dynamics of this fight. It will be different.”
The question everyone wants to know is how different Pacquiao will be. He has looked shopworn, tired and old. It’s up to Bradley to find out what’s left.
Joseph Santoliquito is the president of the Boxing Writer's Association of America and a frequent contributor to Sherdog.com's mixed martial arts and boxing coverage. His archive can be found here.