Elite-level fighter and former two-division world champion Timothy Bradley (31-1-1, 12 KOs) recently confirmed he’s still off the vegan diet and seemingly has no plans to become a vegan again.
Bradley told the formidable boxing site FightHype:
(Image courtesy of TopRank.com) “I am not on a vegan diet for this training camp. I am eating fish, chicken and once a week, steak, to help build up my strength and power.”
Once the proverbial poster boy for the vegan diet, Tim announced last fall he was a meat-eater again, much to the chagrin of die-hard vegans who may have put him on a pedestal.
Perhaps it’s no coincidence Tim, typically the owner of one of boxing’s most impressive physiques, has seemingly blown-up in weight between fights? Last month, Bradley told ThaBoxingVoice, “I don?t take care of myself like I should between fights.”
“So my window?s closing. I probably got a couple of years left then it?s a possibility you probably see me out of the game.?
In his most recent outing against Diego Chaves in December, the favored Bradley was tagged with only the second blemish on his record, a draw. One of the best boxers in the world, pound for pound, Tim uncharacteristically faded during the late stanzas, allowing his opponent to rally.
Has something changed? And is Tim Bradley without the Vegan Diet tantamount to Popeye without his spinach?
Initially a ‘meat and potatoes guy,’ Bradley experimented with veganism in 2008 and allegedly witnessed immediate results.
In Spring 2012 and prior to his big fight with boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao, Tim Bradley told the world he had become a vegan, and his assertions about the vegan lifestyle sent ripples through the food community. Looking chisled, the then-unbeaten Bradley credited his physical strength and superb conditioning to high-intensity training and his well-publicized vegan diet.
So what is a vegan, anyway?
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products. Essentially, vegans do not eat any animal or anything that comes from an animal.
An animal product is any material derived from animals, including meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, dairy products, honey, fur, leather, wool, and silk.
Some insist those who adhere to a vegan / vegetarian diet are at reduced risks for obesity and cardiovascular disease while others insist science doesn’t support such claims.
Regardless of its impact on health, veganism has become fairly trendy in recent years.
Tim Bradley faces unbeaten Jessie Vargas (26-0, 9 KO ) on June 27 and the bout will be televised live on HBO.
