29-0, wins over Lamont Peterson, Kendall Holt, Edner Cherry and the first fighter to beat Manny Pacquiao in 7 years. The current and reigning WBO Welterweight champion of the world. A fighter that by all accounts should be getting major press and hype with his upcoming fight this Saturday night against Ruslan Provodnikov (22-1) at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.
He goes by the name of Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley… and yes all those fact are true.
Yet based on how little noise (other than Freddie Roach) the fight has received it goes to show how sometimes being a good guy can actually hurt a fighter. While the hardcore boxing fans are fans of most if not all boxers, the mainstream media and the casual fan needs more than a guy being a decent human to actually care to watch a guy fight. (or so it seems)
If fans are waiting for Bradley to post a youtube video disrespecting Andre Ward or hyping up his new rap video or walking around in pink briefs, then be prepared to be disappointed. Timothy Bradley is not that guy. He is however, a fighter that you can count on to work hard in the gym day in day out, go home, provide and take care of his family, drop them off at school and put in his roadwork. He is not at the mall dropping G’s on Prada or Gucci and most definitely not tweeting pics of 100k bets.
Timothy Bradley does his best work in the ring. He is an aggressive in your face for 12 full rounds fighter. Many liken his style to that of Mexican fighters with their aggressive constant pressure fighting style. Typically it is a style that fans appreciate and applaud, yet for Bradley his lack of knock out power seems to be the one real knock that some fight fans may have. Bradley’s last knockout was in 2007 and his TKO win over Joel Casamayor was against a man who was a shell of his former self, not to mention a fighter who tested positive for marijuana after the fight.
To add insult to injury;Bradley jumped up in weight when he faced Manny Pacquiao. While many will argue that Pacquiao was robbed, the record shows otherwise. Bradley won in the judges eyes that night no matter how fans feel.
It also does not help that his own promoter called for an investigation into the Pacquiao fight or that after the fight Bradley went into hiding. He kept a low profile, which is not something new for Bradley. He has at times tried to make a little noise, specifically, when Pacquiao was choosing his November opponent he called Pacquiao out. However little if anything has came out of the Bradley camp until the upcoming fight.
While many boxing fans I have talked to are not interested in the Bradley fight this weekend, I argue that Bradley is worth watching. His aggressive style is enjoyable. While the leading with his head at times does get a little over the top, Bradley is a fighter that when paired against someone his is also aggressive such as Provodnikov, fans may be in for a fight and who knows, maybe he will drop an F-bomb on live TV afterwards.
Sadly for a fighter that seems to do all the right things (inside and outside of the ring) Bradley has not seemed to breakthrough to the superstar status and he may never reach it. There is no shame in that, but what he is, is a fighter that comes to work everyday, punches the clock and does what he needs to do.
In 29 fights it has not done him wrong.