In the opinion of quite a few people, this ESB contributor included, former 140 and 147 pound champ Timothy Bradley achieved enough to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. That’s another story, but Bradley, last seen losing his third and final fight with Manny Pacquiao, in April of 2016, might fight again.
Citing health reasons, as in wanting to stay healthy, as his main motivation for hanging up the gloves a little over three years ago Bradley, who gave us some stupendous action and had every right to go out on his own terms, had done enough. Still, at age 35 today (“Desert Storm” will turn 36 at the end of this month), Bradley is looked at as a fighter who perhaps retired just a little before his time. Might Bradley have achieved more had he stuck around after picking up just his second pro loss (only Pacquiao being able to defeat Bradley)?
For the right fight, Bradley admits, he would be tempted to lace ’em up one more time. And the fight that interests Bradley is one with Amir Khan. Back in 2009, 2010 and 2011, before he got his massive opportunity of a fight with Pac Man (which of course Bradley won in 2012, in one if the most controversial decisions of recent times), Bradley was almost desperate to get it on with Khan at 140 pounds – so sure was he he would beat the UK star.
It seems the desire to lay hands on Khan still burns. Bradley yesterday told Fox Sports that he would indeed make a return to the ring for a fight with Khan. Now, the fight would not mean anything close to what it would have meant nine or ten years or so ago, but a Bradley-Khan clash would still have a certain amount of appeal to it (more than a Khan-Kell Brook fight if you ask me).
And maybe the fight would be personal to Bradley; something he wanted, deserved and worked towards back in the years mentioned above. Khan would perhaps take the fight if it were offered to him, seeing how he loves fighting in America and how he would feel very strongly he would beat the inactive, relatively not too lethal a puncher. And even now, with both men in their 30s, the action would very likely prove memorable.
Is a Khan fight worth Bradley’s trouble, should he whip himself back into top shape for the fight? Would YOU watch it? ‘They always come back,’ says the old boxing adage. Might Tim Bradley come back if Amir Khan calls him up on his callout ?
Now a very competent analyst, Bradley alone knows if, after having gone to war with, amongst othrers – Ruslan Provodnikov, Pacquiao x3, Nate Campbell, Joel Casamayor, Kendal Holt and others – it is worth risking it one more time.