Former WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley has earned the respect of Filipino boxing fans for his sportsmanship despite the trash talks and unkind words he said against Manny Pacquiao to gain psychological advantage during the fight. After the verdict of the judges proclaiming Pacquiao as the rightful winner, Bradley admitted he was going for a knockout win in the early rounds but he failed because Pacquiao put up a good defense. ?He?s the better fighter tonight,? Bradley said after the fight. ?I thought I had to do more, that?s why I was going for a knockout,? he added. Bradley did not come up with any excuses or alibis saying Pacquiao was tough with really great footwork. ?He has impeccable timing and great footwork. Tremendous punching power,? the former WBO welterweight champion said. ?He showed his toughness, I hit him a lot of solid punches,? Bradley added.
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For his part Pacquiao said Bradley has made tremendous improvement since their first fight in 2012. ?The Bradley that I fought (two years ago) is different. He has improved a lot. He showed his toughness,? said Pacquiao in the post-fight press conference. ?We saw that in his last two fights, with (Juan Manuel) Marquez and Ruslan (Provodnikov).? Bradley could have fought challengers who are less competitive than Pacquiao like what Floyd Mayweather did when he picked Maidana for his next fight but he gave Pacquiao a chance to regain his title in a rematch. For his sportsmanship and for giving Pacquiao a second chance, Bradley has indeed earned the respect of Filipino boxing fans. As Bradley suffered his first career loss, he also gained more fans while his popularity soared tremendously because of Pacquiao’s name recall and clout. Promoter Bob Arum has complained about Bradley’s weak pay-per-view drawing power which he attributed to his low fanbase and his less-entertaining fighting style. But now Bradley has gained public acceptance not only because of his soaring popularity but more importantly his tremendously improved style and skill as shown in his last three fights.
