LOS ANGELES ? In Timothy Bradley?s final news conference before his Saturday night fight, he stopped his speech for a second to acknowledge promoter Bob Arum in the audience and ask him how he was doing.
Bradley scored a surprising and controversial victory over Manny Pacquiao in June, and Arum represents both fighters. But on that June night, Bradley and Arum?s lives changed.
In the court of public opinion, Bradley was crucified for beating Pacquiao, with people saying he was undeserving of the win, despite the fact he wasn?t seriously hurt in the fight by Pacquiao.
After scoring the victory against one of the two best boxers of this generation, Bradley found himself on the outside looking in. He couldn?t secure a top fight, or another chance for a big pay-per-view fight.
Instead, Bradley is fighting against Ruslan Provodnikov, a tough but largely unknown boxer who will be fighting his first world title.
?It would have been better for me if I lost,? Bradley admitted Wednesday during his final news conference at The Conga Room inside L.A. Live. ?I don?t know. I don?t think I would have fallen off with how much I got railroaded after the fight. I beat that guy.?
One of the guys leading the charge against Bradley was his own promoter, Arum.
Immediately after the split decision for Bradley over Pacquiao was announced, Arum walked around the ring shaking his head.
Then he walked toward the media section, and started talking about how the fight should have been scored 10 rounds to two in Pacquiao?s favor and that?s how everyone saw the fight. Later, Arum would demand the Nevada District Attorney launch an investigation into the fight.
Arum also claimed that Bradley admitted he couldn?t beat Pacquiao in the ring before the decision was announced. Bradley called Arum a liar during a live video chat with mydesert.com.
When Bradley?s fight Saturday against Ruslan Provodnikov was announced in January, the two camps publicly said they?ve mended fences. But Arum didn?t show up to any of the promotional events for Bradley until Wednesday?s session.
