Timothy Bradley: “I’m not expecting to knock out Manny Pacquiao, but I want a decisive win over a great legend”

Timothy Bradley is widely considered as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world and on this Saturday night, he gets a shot to add to his ranking as he will have his third fight with Manny Pacquiao. Bradley, 32, hopes he can secure a convincing win over Pacquiao and finally close this chapter in his boxing career.

In part 1 of my “On The Ropes” boxing radio interview with Timothy Bradley, I discuss with him his upcoming fight this weekend and his thoughts on what the third fight with Pacquiao means to him. I also get Bradley’s view on how he expects Pacquiao to perform coming off of shoulder surgery. Additionally, Tim talks about winning convincingly and if he would prefer to end the trilogy with a knockout. Here is what Timothy Bradley had to say.

Jenna J: Going into the first fight with Manny Pacquiao, it was about the big opportunity. The second fight was about exorcising the demons of all the things you dealt with after the first fight. How do you feel going into the third fight?

Timothy Bradley: Right now I just honestly feel like this is the first fight for me because everything is different now, different trainer, different mentality going into this fight. I feel like the tables are even going into this fight, going in one and one. No matter how you look at it or whatever, it’s one and one, I got the victory the first fight and he got the victory the second fight.

Going into this fight now, I feel that I’m clear headed, I don’t have all these demons around me, I’m ready for this opportunity. There’s a reason why this opportunity came about — I didn’t expect the third fight but it is happening — and now we got a good game plan with Teddy Atlas.

I’m more seasoned all the way around now, I got new tricks under my sleeve and new things I’ve learnt in training camp and I’m just looking to execute them against Manny Pacquiao and stay disciplined. I have to keep the discipline that I suddenly lose occasionally, because I lose my mind in the ring some times and I get crazy and wild, but that’s just the nature in me. If I can tame that beast and be a small monster in this fight, I should be victorious.

Jenna J: Do you think you’re going to see the same Manny Pacquiao you faced in the previous two fights or do you think he’s going to bring something different?

Timothy Bradley: One of the things that we believe in is that we never rely on any of our opponent’s weaknesses, we always train for the best available guys out there. We train for the best because when we fight, they get up and they know they’re fighting against one of the best fighters in the game, pound-for-pound. They’re going to get up and be ready for the fight, so we’re expecting the best Manny Pacquiao that we’ve seen in the past.

There’s a lot riding on this, legacy is riding on this. There’s a lot of things riding on this for Pacquiao but for me, I see this as legacy. I see this as an opportunity to be remembered, not for the controversy decision, not by being beaten by Manny Pacquiao. This is another opportunity to state that, “Bradley won this fight, he won this time,” in the public’s eye. Just having that credibility means the world to me and that’s what I’m after.

Jenna J: Is winning enough for you in this fight, or do you want something definitive where people can’t question anything?

Timothy Bradley: No, winning is winning regardless. Just having the majority of people saying, “Bradley won,” that’s good enough for me. I don’t see anything else besides that. I’m not expecting to knock out Manny Pacquiao, I’m not expecting anything like that, but I just want a nice decisive win over a great legend like Manny Pacquiao.

Jenna J: Would you want to score a knock out?

Timothy Bradley: If the knockout was to come, absolutely. If I had that Mike Tyson power, absolutely, but my knockout percentage is less than fifty percent. I’m not known for a good knockout, but I won’t say that it will never happen.

I train for twelve rounds and if the knockout was to come, absolutely, that’s what we want, to get a definitive win and go home with a nice paycheck. Yes, if I had it my way, a knockout would be the best decision and a finer moment in my career.

So, yes to answer your question, a knockout would definitely be the number one thing on my mind, but I’m not even paying attention to that, I’m just thinking about the game plan and what I need to do and go out there and execute it. If I execute my game plan, I should come out victorious.