?Every fight from here on out is a statement fight, especially coming after the Pacquiao fight. I am looking to make a statement in this fight and I am looking to damage this guy. I am looking to put this guy out. I don?t want to go 12 rounds with this guy. The longer he stays around the more confident he will get so I want to get him out of there as soon as possible,? so said WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley to media via teleconference last week.
Bradley could not have been more on target with his notion in the lead up to his first title defense since dethroning Manny Pacquiao ten months ago.
Since then, Bradley has nursed his extremity injuries following the Pacquiao loss, declined a return rematch bout against Lamont Peterson and now ends up putting his title up for grabs against junior-welterweight contender Ruslan Provodnikov in the main event of an HBO card in Carson, California.
?My feet were not 100%. In the back of my mind I was thinking about if I was ready or not. I also did not want the rematch with [Lamont] Peterson. It was a combination of the two things but mainly I did not want to fight Peterson,? said Bradley of a Peterson rematch.?
The 147 division has for years been the dominant force in boxing, spearheaded by both Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. With the 140?s slowly gaining momentum in the boxing landscape, the full fledged welterweight division still packs quite the punch and as more of 2013 plays out, we?ll see more action in this division with title fights and contenders making a name for themselves against each other.
Pacquiao just fought at 147 against Juan Manuel Marquez, Roberto Guerrero fought fellow 147 fighter Andre Berto and will be challenging Mayweather for his WBC welterweight strap, Devon Alexander is slated to defend his portion of a welterweight trinket against Kell Brook in May, Paul Malignaggi and Adrien Broner are alsmot signed down to fight for Malignaggi?s title and come uppers Josesito Lopez and Marcos Maidana will scrap in hopes of making a name for themselves in June of this year.
So how does Bradley feel at his current weight division?
?The speed is still there and the power will be there. In camp we have been working on a lot of techniques and turning over my shots and making them harder and more effective. The sparring partners are asking what I am doing differently because my shots are a lot harder now.?
In the weeks heading into this weekend?s HBO card, reports had come out of death threats against Bradley following his split decision win over Pacquiao.
Photo: Chris Farina / Top Rank
?The Pacquiao (fight) made me grow as a person and as a fighter and it made me realize who was important and who was not important and what is important in my career. What is not important is what people?s perception of me is. Everyone has an opinion and they can say whatever they want to say but it?s not going to stop me from what I do and that?s kick but in the ring. What?s important is my family and I pay attention to my career and stop worrying about everyone else?s career and what they are making. I just need to focus on my career and my life. Stop reading all this garbage that all these people are writing about me. I stopped reading columns ? I used to read it all the time now I don?t read it at all.?
Regarding the death threats, Bradley had this to say:
?I don?t get any credit after the Pacquiao fight, whatsoever. People talk about me, my style, that I?m boring. Some people talk about my wife, my kids. People sent me death threats after the fight because I won undeservingly. I should have given the belt back. A lot of different things went on. I can talk all day about things that people said about me. But it doesn?t matter ? none of these people are going to get in the ring with me. People can say whatever they want ? it is a free country ? so I am going to say whatever I want, when I want to say it and how I want to say it. Those people don?t know me at all. If you get to know me, if you know what I go through, how I train and you still talk crap about me, then you have the problem. No one knows what I go through to prepare for my fights. People need to sell papers I guess. I am the nicest guy you will ever meet on the street, ever.?
Longtime Bradley trainer Joel Diaz believes his fighter will have the power edge against Provodnikov when the two meet on Saturday.
?Punching power? Yes. For the Pacquiao fight we wanted to execute Manny?s strategy ? movement, technique but the injury made us survive for the fight. But this guy that comes straight forward, he is just a target in front of you. Now I have Tim hitting a lot harder. I can tell from the sparring partners that were going six or eight rounds that now can?t handle two rounds. We made some changes and they are working really well. I will tell you this ? Ruslan will come forward, but he will only come forward until I decide he will not come forward. I will tell Tim we do now want him coming forward, just like the Pacquiao fight. By the eleventh or twelfth round [of the Pacquiao fight], who was pushing the other guy back? Tim was. Tim does what I tell him to do and when I tell him to push Ruslan back, Tim will do it. When I told him to push the fight back, he was pushing Pacquiao back. Ruslan is a straightforward fight. He has power but he is going to come forward until I say so.?
Provodnikov trainer, as well as Pacquiao?s lead man, recent Hall of Fame inductee Freddie Roach has made comments towards Bradley in the closing weeks of camp that Bradley will run just like he did in the Pacquiao fight, among other comments. Diaz seemed unfazed when asked about his own personal trainer vs. trainer match this weekend.
?Freddie Roach is not my concern. My concern is the fighter. Freddie Roach was just a name that was created. I think Freddie Roach lost the love of the sport. He created a name and it?s out there but he doesn?t have the compassion for the sport that he had a few years ago. I?ve seen it in the last M?rquez fight. I?ve seen it in the fight before, the third fight with M?rquez. Freddie Roach is the least of my concern for any fight. I just focus on the fighter. Freddie Roach is always trying to play mind games. Freddie says Tim is going to run ? that is just Freddie playing mind games. They don?t know how we are going to fight. He is trying to get under Tim?s skin. At the end of the day Tim is going to be a winner, and that?s what matters.?
If Provodnikov is victorious against Bradley, he is uncertain of his own future at 147 and may play between the divisions to see where the best opportunity presents itself.
?I don?t know what my plans are going to be after this fight. Realistically I have always been waiting for a fight against Tim Bradley and I would have taken the fight with him at 140 or 147. I think I can beat him at any weight class,? said Provodnikov.
Roach was optimistically cautious about continuing in the northern welterweight division.
?Ruslan is a very good 147-pounder who happens to be able to make 140. 147 is easier to make but it is still no walk in the park. We have to watch his diet. He weighs about 153 right now so he is in striking distance. He feels pretty strong at the weight and I think he will be a better puncher at the weight. I like him at 147 more than I like him at 140.?
The match will have integral meaning to both fighters, where they stand and in what division. One trainer is looking to cement his dominance over the other with consecutive victories (Diaz), one fighter is looking to move forward from one of the most controversial title victories in recent boxing history (Bradley) and the other fighter is looking for his first career title win in his first title bid and in a new weight division to boot (Provodnikov).
To say that a lot is at stake once the first bell rings on HBO Saturday night would be an understatement of epic proportions.
