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Tim Bradley: ‘I have a lot to prove’ vs. Manny Pacquiao

Fighters Network
17
Mar

The following are training camp notes for WBO welterweight titleholder Tim Bradley in advance of his April 12 rematch with Manny Pacquiao, whom Bradley dethroned by split decision in June 2012.

The notes were taken from a press release distributed by HBO on behalf of Top Rank Inc. in advance of Bradley-Pacquiao II, which will be shown on HBO Pay-Per-View from the MGM Grand.

During two fights over the course of 2013, Bradley rose from a 12th-round knockdown to unanimously decision Ruslan Provodnikov in March and then won a split-decision over four-division titlewinner Juan Manuel Marquez in October.

Click here for a video of Bradley's greatest hits.



Pacquiao lost his next bout in December 2012 by sixth-round stoppage to Marquez, against whom Pacquiao is 2-1-1, before winning a unanimous decision over Brandon Rios in his last fight in November.

The WBO has declared that the winner of Bradley-Pacquiao II must face that between Marquez and Mike Alvarado, who will fight on May 17.

Question for Bradley: Can you discuss 2013 and how your fights against Provodnikov and Marquez solidified you as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world?

Bradley: 2013 was a great year for me. I started out the year fighting a guy who wasn't very well known outside the boxing community by the name of Ruslan Provodnikov. You might have heard of him by now since our fight was voted "Fight Of The Year" by the Boxing Writers of America.

Ruslan has also gone on to win a junior welterweight title and has moved into many peoples' top 10 pound-for-pound lists. My second fight of 2013 was against a current top five pound-for-pound guy that had just come off of the "KO of the Year" against Manny Pacquiao, the future Hall-of-Famer Juan Manuel Marquez.

This fight, unlike the Provodnikov fight, was a chess match and I believe I gave Juan Manuel Marquez a boxing lesson. With these two fights, I was able to show that I can outbox a top five pound-for-pound boxer and I could also go toe-to-toe with one of the most feared punchers in the sport.

I was able to show the fans that I am a versatile fighter and can box and brawl as needed. I believe that being a top pound-for-pound fighter means that you have to do whatever it takes to win, whether its outbox your opponent or fight your opponent blow-for-blow in the center of the ring.

I am out to prove that I am one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport if not the best. In my two fights in 2013, I was able to show that I can do it all in the sport of boxing.

This next fight will be no different in helping me show the fans that I am top pound-for-pound in the world. I have a lot to prove and nothing can stop me on my way to being number one in the world."

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