On April 12 undefeated WBO welterweight champion will finally get the chance to prove his critics wrong when he rematches Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
After Bradley was awarded a highly controversial majority decision victory when the two first met back in June 2012 Bradley received backlash worse than he would if he had lost the bout.
Bradley (31-0, 12 KOs) feels he should have been praised for beaten Pacquiao when he did after the eight division champ had a string of impressive victories going into the 2012 bout.
“Well as many know the first Pacquiao fight I was just supposed to be another opponent for the great Manny Pacquiao. Not many people gave me a chance to come out victorious especially not after the type of winning streak that he had been on,” Bradley said. “His previous seven fights Pacquiao had beaten and or destroyed Juan Manuel Marquez, Sugar Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito, Joshua Clottey, Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton and Oscar de la Hoya.”
After the decision, media and fans alike worldwide ripped Bradley and expressed their thoughts on him winning undeservedly. Despite the overall displeasure shown, Bradley said he put the hard work into preparing for the bout and thought he deserved to win.
“No one thought I had what it took to beat Manny Pacquiao. So when I did edge out the decision I never got the credit I deserved. I busted my butt in training camp as I always do for any fight but this was the biggest fight in my career so I pushed that much harder to prove to the world that I could beat Manny Pacquiao.
“When the decision was announced that I had done enough to beat Manny no one could believe what had happened — and hardly anyone knew the physical conditions that I had gone through during the fight,” Bradley explained.
Instead of catapulting his career to new heights as he hoped, Bradley’s career was affected negatively and things turned ugly. Real ugly.
“Beating Pacquiao was supposed to be the turning point in who Timothy Bradley really is but instead it became a very dark point and time in my life. The boos turned into hatred and then hatred turned into death threats. I felt I had done enough to beat Pacquiao but everyone was out to prove that I hadn’t,” Bradley said of the reaction to his win.“This was supposed to be my night but instead it turned into a night where an icon not only lost but was also “robbed” by me. Everyone sat there in shocked without realizing that I had just done what I set myself to do. No one stopped for a second and acknowledge my accomplishment.”
With the rematch Bradley wants to go out there and shut up his doubters and leave no question that he deserved to win and plans to win decisively the second time around.
“Although I am certain I won the fight it is now time to once again show the world who Timothy Bradley really is. On April 12 we will settle for once and for all the uncertainty of boxing followers and those of the fans, he said. “This is my chance at redemption and I promise I will make the most of it.”
Pacquiao/Bradley 2 24/7 premieres Saturday, March 29 at Midnight ET/PT on HBO. Show two debuts Saturday, April 5 at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT and show three debuts Thursday, April 10 at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT two nights before the high stakes welterweight title bout. Pacquiao vs. Bradley 2 takes place Sat., April 12 live on pay-per-view beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
