LOS ANGELES ? WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley is trying to move forward with his career and get past all the backlash he faced when he defeated one of the best fighters ever.
In the eight months since Bradley upset Manny Pacquiao by a controversial split decision, Bradley had been passed over for a rematch, ignored by other marquee fighters, and developed tension with his own promoter.
During that time, the usually busy Bradley had to lay low and rest his two feet that were injured during the Pacquiao fight.
Bradley finally returns to the ring on March 16, taking on a good, but not elite fighter in Ruslan Provodnikov at the Home Depot Center in Carson.
?I?m not mad, I?m just glad to be back,? the 29-year-old Bradley said during his Los Angeles press conference on Wednesday. ?It?s been eight months. It?s been a long time. It?s given me time to gather my thoughts and get control of my career.
?I?m hungry man, I?m hungry to get back into it and I have a lot to prove. I have a lot to prove every time I fight. I?m looking to make a statement, to just show my skills and get the respect I feel I deserve.?
Bradley said he?s excited to fight in the Los Angeles area, something he?s never done as a world champion. For him, it will be a homecoming, but also a chance to capture some added exposure in the world?s second largest media market.
And Provodnikov is No. 3 in the WBO rankings with an aggressive style that promises to make a fight against Bradley entertaining for the HBO audience.
But it?s not where Bradley thought he would be after stopping Pacquiao?s seven-year unbeaten streak.
Bradley expected to fight another marquee fighter if Pacquiao passed on a rematch, someone with cache that would allow the fight to be on pay-per-view.
Mexican star Juan Manuel Marquez would have been an attractive fight, but he wound up fighting Pacquiao for a fourth time. Marquez handed the Filipino star his second consecutive loss with a devestating sixth-round knockout.
