by Geoffrey Ciani (Exclusive Interview by Jenna J & Geoffrey Ciani) – The most recent edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio featured an exclusive interview with Timothy Bradley (28-0, 12 KOs) who is preparing for a June 9 bout against Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KOs). Bradley spoke about his upcoming fight against Pacquiao and also gave his views on Pacquiao as a boxer. He also shared opinions on other aspects of the current boxing landscape including Floyd Mayweather Junior’s recent win against Miguel Cotto, Lamont Peterson failing a drug test that led to the cancelation of his rematch with Amir Khan, his views on drug testing in boxing, and more! Here is what Bradley had to say:
Regarding training camp for his June 9 fight against Manny Pacquiao:
“Training camp has been phenomenal. You know this training camp has been very intense, more intense than any other training camp I’ve done. I think the hunger is definitely there. The determination factor is definitely in play. I’m skilled, I’m fast, I’m strong, and my body and my physique is in crazy shape right now. I’m pretty low on weight. I’m a little bothered by that, but other than that I’m doing great. I’m feeling great!”
On what it is like to have all the 24/7 cameras around him throughout training and preparations:
“You know what? I think it’s great! I think it’s great that we give the fans and just the general public a view of like what my family and I are like as people, and how I am as a fighter, and pretty much all of Team Bradley. So I think it’s great! I enjoyed the first segment of 24/7. I thought it was wonderful. You know I got a lot of great feedback on it. It’s just me being myself. I didn’t have to act a certain way, it was just me in my day to day activities, and what I’m thinking, and just working when I work out. So it was great! My family is dealing with it very well, and I am just staying focused in the gym and not really worrying about the cameras.”
On whether he feels Manny Pacquiao is underestimating him as a fighter and a serious threat:
“I think Pacquiao takes me as a serious threat. You know I think he’s working hard. I honestly do. I don’t think that he’s not taking me seriously. I know that Pacquiao has that big fight with Mayweather looming over his head so I think that he’s definitely trying to take me out! So he’s prepared 110%. I don’t really listen to what they’re saying or I really don’t listen to that Freddie. They play a lot of mind games, and I know he’s working hard.”
On whether he believes Pacquiao is truly focused on boxing right now with his new devotion to religion and all of the other things he has going on in his life:
“I don’t know. I mean that’s a question that he has to answer that question. You know I really don’t know. I know in my life and pretty much with my family, definitely God comes first over boxing. But you know there is a time and a place for everything, and right now it’s time for me to focus on Manny Pacquiao. I got to feed my family a little bit, not by the wayside, but that’s not my focus right now. So they understand. My family understands, but I’m just focusing 110% on my boxing and my training. It all depends on him. I’m not sure on what Pacquiao’s mindset is or what his focus is, but he should be focused on the fight.”
On what he is specifically working on in training in order to help offset Pacquiao’s southpaw stance and intense speed:
“Well he’s got to deal with my speed and he’s got to deal with me, and my quickness, my reflexes, and my youthfulness. You know I’m very athletic and I don’t think he’s fought a more athletic fighter than I am. You know I’m physically strong, I’m fast, and I can fight all night. He’s pretty much going to be looking at himself in the mirror. You know I’m not really worried about what Pacquiao’s bringing—he’s got to deal with what I’m bringing! So I’ll be ready for any aspect of his game. If he wants to pressure, I can box. If he wants to fight, I can slug. So every aspect of his game I’m ready for it. My job is to be in the best shape I could possibly be in, and if I’m in the best shape I possibly can be in then I should definitely do very well in this fight.”
His views on what he thinks he does that will give Manny Pacquiao the most trouble:
“How smart I am and how quick I am. You know I’m a very good counterpuncher. I’m an aggressive fighter as well, and I’m quick, and I take chances. I think all of these factors are definitely going to make the fight very interesting, because Manny can’t hit what’s not there. You know what I mean. A lot of the guys he’s faced in the past are very stationary and they were right in front of him. Well you got a guy that can be right in front of you and then move off to the side in the blink of an eye. So he’s definitely going to have to try to set his feet at times, but the majority of the time he’s going to trying to pick up his feet to try and catch me. So you know things are going to be interesting. I think it will be interesting to see how he reacts to that. You know everybody knows that Manny likes to come forward and fight. A lot of people haven’t seen Manny back up too much. You know he likes to bring the action. So it will be interesting to see if I can back this line up.”
His views on his experiences during the HBO Face-Off he had with Manny Pacquiao in which he appeared focused, determined, and not the least bit star struck:
“You know it’s just my focus. I’m not scared of any man and I’m definitely not scared of Pacquiao. I’m not a star struck type of guy. I appreciate and I admire his work, but we got to get it on! It’s a fight! So my demeanor was you know what, hey man! You’re going to fight regardless of what you say or anybody else says. I know what I’m capable of doing and I was just staying relaxed and being myself. I got everything together. You know what I mean. I know how to beat you. It’s just having confidence in myself and my abilities, because if you don’t have confidence in yourself, and you don’t have confidence in your craft and your abilities, then who’s going to believe in you? No one! So that’s the type of thing that I took that day to stay relaxed, stay poised, and stay serious because it’s definitely a serious matter. Being face to face with my opponent isn’t always going to be a lot of cheers and laughter. You know the press conference was a lot of laughs and a lot of the feeling out process, a lot of reading. But when you go down to the Face Off, we’re face to face and it’s a little bit more serious I think. So that’s my take on that.”
On whether he thought Freddie Roach was trying to play head games and get under his skin when he claimed Pacquiao would trainer harder than Bradley at the HBO Face Off:
“I think he really believes what he says plus he’s trying to play psychological games. That stuff don’t work with me man! You know I haven’t met any fighter that trains harder than me, man! Not one! You know I hear about Floyd training, I hear about Pacquiao training, and I hear about all of these guys and they train and they train really hard. But dude, I work extremely hard man. I don’t think there’s anybody that puts in the miles, and puts the time in the gym, and spars as much as I do, and works out as hard as I do. You know I workout year round. I don’t think there’s a guy that’s out there that really does that. Maybe there is, but I haven’t ran across him yet. So I mean it didn’t bother me, but I just know how hard I’ve trained. You know what I mean? When they say that Pacquiao trains harder than me, well I don’t take any days off! I think Pacquiao did when you see his training camp. So while Pacquiao was resting, and doing karaoke, and doing whatever he does—I was working, and that definitely plays to my advantage.”
Regarding how important it is to be surrounded by his team and supporters as he prepares for the biggest fight of his life:
“Well you know it’s very important because everybody plays a big part in my focus and definitely my determination and hard work. If my Dad never misses a day at the gym, I have to motivate myself the majority of the time. But when he’s there, he’s there and I hear his voice, and it’s just motivating in itself. You know just hearing his voice, and having Joel there as well, and having Sam Jackson there, and just having everyone speak to me. It definitely puts the flames on, and we start talking about the fight. I got some running buddies that I run with now, and once they start talking about the fight it’s like, alright man! You know what? We’re going longer now! Today we planned to go five miles, now we’re going ten! So now they know not to talk about boxing when we’re running, because once we start talking about the fight I just kick in another gear. So having positive people around me motivates me to train harder, and having people that support me and want me to win, it definitely drives me to be the best I can possibly be so we can win the fight.”
Regarding which performance by Manny Pacquiao most impressed him since he first jumped to 147 to challenge Oscar De La Hoya as a big time underdog:
“I think all of them. You know all of those fights were great fights. He showed how quick he was, how strong he was, you know he was the smaller guy. I’m a small guy. I beat on big guys all day. I’ve always been a small guy. I expected him to win the majority of those fights, actually all of those fights, because of styles—due to the fact that De La Hoya was on his way out; due to the fact that Shane Mosley was on his way out; due to the fact that Margarito only fights one style and one way, and that’s straight forward because even though he’s strong, he’s slow as molasses; Clottey didn’t even punch, he’s more of a defensive fighter. So I knew he wasn’t going to win the fight because he just relies on keeping his hands up, and Pacquiao just throws a boatload of punches all the time. So I knew he didn’t have a chance. But you go back and you watch the Marquez fight, well Marquez is towards the end of his career and he still can counterpunch well. He still had the ability to make Pacquiao miss and make him pay. You saw the results. So I was impressed with his resume and what not, but then again it doesn’t really matter here now. I mean what you did in the past doesn’t ever matter. It’s what you’re doing now. He has me in front of him now, and this is a different type of style, something that I feel he hasn’t faced in a very long time. It’s going to be interesting to see how he responds when he has a guy that can definitely move, and punch back, and is going to be in his face all night.”
His views on Floyd Mayweather Junior’s recent victory against Miguel Cotto:
“Oh! Floyd was brilliant, man! He’s a brilliant fighter, man. You know you can’t say anything bad about Floyd, man. You know he stood there and he fought Cotto. It was a tough fight. He could have made it a lot easier for himself, but he decided to stand there and go blow for blow at times with Cotto, and mix it up, box a little bit, brawl a little bit. I loved it, man! You know it was a great performance by Floyd Mayweather, the best fighter in the game. I tip my hat off to Floyd. He did his job. He did a great job.”
His initial reaction when he heard about Lamont Peterson failing a drug test which led to the cancelation of his rematch against Amir Khan:
“I couldn’t believe it. You know I just couldn’t believe it. I know Lamont and them very well. I know his team and I just was like man, there’s got to be something else behind this because I’m not sure about this. His lawyer and him committed to taking these supplements or whatnot, or these testosterone boosters, or whatever, and for whatever reason he forgot to explain that to the people that are involved in the administration of the drug testing. So I think it was just a mistake. You know I don’t know the whole situation or all of what happened. If it was a mistake it’s just a raw deal and it’s pretty bad. I know they work extremely hard and I would just hate to see it just go down the drain and to see him being claimed as a cheater. That’s just not good for him, and he came up the hard way. So my blessings and prayers go out to him and his camp, and I hope they can rebound from this.”
On whether he believes fans will forgive Lamont Peterson in the event it turns out that there was no wrongdoing on his part:
“Oh yeah! I mean the fans, they hate at the beginning but then they forget. It’s like everything blows over. You know what I mean? Yeah, every now and again you might get somebody saying something about something about it. But for the most part you don’t hear a lot of people still bashing Margarito for those plaster of paris hand wraps. You don’t hear a lot about that now. You just hear about the butt whooping he took from Manny Pacquiao and Cotto.”
His views on drug testing in boxing given the recent cancelations of the Amir Khan-Lamont Peterson and Andre Berto-Victor Ortiz rematches and whether he believes drug testing should become more common:
“Yes but they got to have more regulations and more guidelines to it. There’s really not like a set criteria of what can happen and what can’t happen. There’s really not a designed drug test. It’s just like oh well we saw these little particles in your blood. It’s not enough to actually help you perform better, but oh we found this! So it’s a negative blood test and now you’re like considered a cheater. It’s like that could happen to anybody. What happened to Berto that could happen to anybody. If you go down to GNC you don’t know where these manufacturers are actually getting this stuff. Maybe they’re making other drugs and things like that, and maybe it brushed a long and got a bad batch and you know you get a raw deal in the testing. I just think that they just need a little more details as far as the testing. But as far as testing goes I think it’s beneficial! I think it’s very beneficial and I think it would definitely help a lot of fighters out there, especially to catch the ones that are cheating that are on the real stuff. So I think it’s good! I think it’s a great thing.”
On how he felt when he was first knocked down against Kendall Holt and how he believes he will react if put into that situation by Pacquiao:
“I couldn’t believe I was down when that happened. I just couldn’t believe it. I was like wow, I’m on the ground. It was definitely a gut check and I had to get up and I had to finish the fight. I think if it happens in this fight with Pacquiao I’ll do the same thing! I’ll get up and finish the fight. I come in tremendous shape so that definitely helps me get oxygen back to my brain and through my body. So I should be able to get up if it ever happens again and still continue to fight. I was capable of doing it once and I think I’m capable of doing it again.”
On what he predicts boxing fans will be saying the day after his fight against Pacquiao:
“I don’t know. I hope it’s good things. I don’t know. But at the end of the fight I definitely know my hand will be raised, and I will definitely be the new face in boxing, and will definitely be the new welterweight king right next to Floyd Mayweather. That’s my goal and I’m on a quest to go out and actually display it and do it on June 9. So the fans can expect a great fight because Pacquiao comes to fight and I definitely come to fight. I’m not going to take no for an answer in this fight. So you might see me do some things I’ve never done before, and you’re definitely going to see history be made that night! Pacquiao is really seriously going to have to hurt me in order to stop me. Period!”
***
For those interested in listening to the Timothy Bradley interview in its entirety, it begins approximately one hour and seven minutes into the program.
RIGHT CLICK and ‘SAVE AS’ TO DOWNLOAD EPISODE #170
***
To learn more about “On the Ropes Boxing Radio”
Visit our official Website:
http://www.ontheropesboxingradio.com
Subscribe to our show on i-tunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-ropes/id427474189
Join our Facebook Group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=231954175413&ref=ts
Or Follow us on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/JennaOnTheRopes
http://twitter.com/CianiOnTheRopes
To contact Geoffrey Ciani or Jenna J:
ontheropes@boxing247.com
To read more by Ciani or Jenna please visit The Mushroom Mag:
http://www.eatthemushroom.com/mag