Timothy Bradley talks Provodnikov and death threats

Earlier today welterweight champion Timothy Bradley had much to say about his scheduled bout with Ruslan Provodnikov and about Manny Pacquiao. The conference call that took place this afternoon started off with simple questions about Bradley's March 16th opponent Ruslan Provodnikov but it didn't take long for the Pacquiao questions to start seeping through.

"I'm 100 percent" said Bradley about how he felt and how is training was going. "He's a tough guy. I know he's going to bring the fight to me and I'm ready for him. He doesn't have one punch knockout power. He does hit hard though. I'm not worried about his power, he should be worried about mine. I've been stepping into my punches and turning them over better. You're going to see a different Tim Bradley."  

After a few questions about how training camp was going, and Coach Diaz saying that they have been studying Ruslan's style and they know how to beat him, the Pacquiao questions began, and didn't seem to end. 

"It ain't been great since the Pacquiao fight. I learned what was important and what wasn't important in life. What's not important is what people think of me. What the media thinks of me. That stuff don't matter. I stopped reading the columns and the websites. I used to read them all the time but I don't anymore. I received death threats, people were talking about my wife my kids like I did something wrong. I had nothing to do with what happened." 

The questions didn't stop and Bradley refused to answer when someone asked him how he felt about the way Bob Arum treated him after the Pacquiao fight. Arum went on record saying that he was outraged at the judge's decision putting him at odds between two of his most popular fighters. When he was asked what he thought when he saw Marquez knock Pacquiao out, he said the devil inside him said "That's what he gets for not fighting me." Bradley had wanted a immediate rematch with Pacquiao. But that the good side in him felt bad for Pacquiao. 

In regards to not fighting last year after his June bout. "I wasn't interested in fighting Peterson again." He admitted. Bradley was offered Guerrero and Berto before they signed to fight each other, but Top Rank President Todd Duboef said that neither of them were interested in the fight. Their next opponent was supposed to be Yurkiosis Gamboa which they wanted for March 1st, but Gamboa declined the fight.

Bradley's return hasn't been favorable to the fans but truth be told he should't be the one to blame. In fact, it may be time for the boxing fans to let the past be the past and move on. Bradley has never dodged anyone in his career and as overcome the odds to build up a pretty solid resume. Love him or hate him, he's here to stay. The future looks bright for him if he can get by Provodnikov. Rumor has it Juan Manuel Marquez has take an interest in the fight. A Bradley win may set up negotiations for a future PPV event against the Mexican champion.