MANILA, Philippines – Tim (Desert Storm) Bradley is lined up to face WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on June 9 but in a Ring Magazine interview a few years ago, his focus was on somebody else, boldly predicting to be the first man to beat Floyd Mayweather Jr.
?It?s not even about the money,? said the brash 28-year-old WBO lightwelterweight titlist who is making only his second appearance in a Las Vegas ring after halting Joel Casamayor last November. ?I want to fight the best fighter in the world and I want to see if I can beat him. Manny is human just like I am. I want to see if I can beat him. I worked my butt off to get to the No. 1 spot just to fight him. It?s a matter of time that the guys who don?t want to fight me will one day fight me. If Mayweather doesn?t retire before I fight him, I?ll be the first man to beat him. I don?t want to be cocky. I?m just being real.?
Bradley, like Mayweather, is unbeaten and it?s a credential he?s determined to preserve whether he fights Pacquiao or somebody else. Bradley has a lot of respect for Pacquiao but in the ring, he?ll let it all hang out because that?s how he is. Bradley takes pride in his moniker ?Desert Storm? and that?s how he plans to battle Pacquiao ? by kicking up a cloud of dust to powder the world?s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter.
It was Bradley who coined the moniker. ?I just wanted a name that would stick,? he said. ?I?m from the desert in Palm Springs. I was listening to a rapper named Fabolous and in the background, I heard, ?Desert Storm? and I was like, ?Man, that sounds good.? The war was going on and I was like, ?That would be perfect.? I wasn?t in the military but mentally and the way I train, I train like I?m in the military ? a lot of discipline.?
Bradley?s motivation stems from his humble beginnings. He grew up in a ghetto, the second of three children and the only boy. His father, Tim Sr., worked since he was 13 and became a father at 18. He did two jobs, working as a luggage porter at the airport and a security guard in the school district. His father?s uncompromising work ethic rubbed off on him. Boxing was Bradley?s way out of poverty and he began to hit the gym at 10 years old, going into Grade 6.
?I had about 145 amateur fights,? he said. ?I really don?t even have a clue about how many wins and losses I had, just a lot of fights. I?m naturally right-handed. I fought the best out there. I fought Anthony Thompson, Rondell Mason, Andre Berto. I fought Andre Ward when we were 14 or 15. It was in a national invitational, I ended up losing a split decision. My father was my amateur trainer for my whole amateur career.?
Today, Bradley?s father is still in his team as co-trainer with former lightweight contender Joel Diaz. He?s managed by Cameron Dunkin who also handles Nonito Donaire Jr. Last year, Bradley signed up with Top Rank. ?I?m here to be promoted,? he said. ?This is why I box. I want to be promoted. I?ve been winning my fights but I haven?t been getting the top exposure I feel I deserve. I?m relatively unknown. My main objective was to get a promoter to build the Bradley brand and Top Rank is good at doing that.?
Two years ago, Bradley married Monica Smoot who has a son and daughter from a previous relationship. Last July, they had their first child, a girl. Bradley said his wife has changed his life.
?When I met Monica, she was a single mother raising two children and holding it down,? he said quoted by Joseph Santoloquito in The Ring Magazine (April 2010). ?I call her kids my kids. I helped raise them. I feed and clothe them. She has changed my life. She showed me what a good woman is supposed to do. We went to high school together. She was with someone for seven years. She doesn?t smoke, she doesn?t drink. She has awesome kids. She?s an amazing woman and she?s supported me through the hard times because we went through some rough, rough times. My goal is for her to reach her goal and become a teacher because she helped me reach my goal. I?m a changed man. I?m in bed at 8:30 every night and I come home to a cooked meal. It?s awesome.?
Bradley turned pro in 2004 and in his debut as the second bout on the bill, stopped Francisco Martinez before 1,500 fans in Corona, California. ?I remember making $1,000 for four-rounders and $5,000 for 10 rounds,? he said. ?It got so bad that I wasn?t able to buy my wife a Valentine?s gift and Christmas presents for my kids. I was personally training people to get money. Sam Jackson ? he?s a good buddy of mine ? would find little gigs for me where I could train someone and make $75 for a few minutes. We had to take out two loans. I was in danger of losing our house. The fridge broke down, my wife?s car broke down. My credit got messed up. We had one car then and now, I have five. For two years, I was dead broke.?
For facing Pacquiao, Bradley will earn his highest guaranteed paycheck of $5 million ? a far cry from what he scraped in his first pro bout eight years ago.
