By Vitali Shaposhnikov: When a person says something about someone else, the verbal exchanges usually spiral into finger pointing and convoluted explanations as to what was really said. There is always drama when boxing promoters and their fighters say things about each other that are either misinterpreted, or simply don’t match. Recently, Timothy Bradley and Bob Arum mentioned a few things about each other, possibly launching a mistrusting relationship between the two.
“I tried hard but I couldn’t beat the guy,” is what Timothy Bradley supposedly told Bob Arum after the Pacquiao fight, right before the decision was announced. The authenticity of this was claimed by Bob Arum, as he is the one who quoted Bradley making that statement. (http://www.espn.co.uk/boxing /sport/story/156469.html)
Timothy Bradley not only denies saying anything as such to Bob Arum, but also seems very frustrated with his promoter: “”I never told Bob that at all. He’s a liar and I will tell him that to his face. I told Bob I did the best I can. I got injured. That was it. That’s all I said to Bob. I didn’t say, ‘Bob, I couldn’t beat that guy.’ I would never say that, because I thought I won the fight,” angrily responded Bradley..
Bradley has recently said too many things, and most of them are inflicting a lot of damage to his own reputation. Still, in this case, I have to believe Timothy, as I find it excessively unusual for any boxer to claim defeat before the decision is ever announced. Not only that, but no one was knocked down and the fight went all twelve rounds. Bradley seems to be a very proud man; he acknowledges the value of his flawless record and his abilities inside the ring. If anything, based on the way the fight unfolded, I would expect him to scream robbery if he had lost the decision.
“Bob’s going to say that because that’s his cash cow. The fact he lost to me, that’s hard on him. That’s hard on everyone,” continued Bradley. That’s another interesting statement made by the Desert Storm. Looks like Bradley knows and understands that Arum is protective of only one of his moneymaking champions, and we all know who that is. It’s so severe, that Arum might be throwing his other fighters under the bridge just to save the more financially beneficial one.
“I have nothing but love for Top Rank. I have nothing but love for the people. This is a business and some things are said and taken out of context. It is what it is. When I see him, we’ll settle this. I’m a big man, I’ll talk to him,” concluded Bradley. I think that many of us can assume that Bradley’s love for Top Rank will quickly dissipate over time. If Bradley believes that all this is strictly business, than his own promoter Bob Arum is trying to derail money from going in a less profitable direction, the Bradley direction. I wonder what Bradley is planning on asking or telling Arum when they meet next time? Will Bradley call him out, or try to convince himself that it was nothing but a misunderstanding.