"I can compete with any of them guys at that level, man. I can compete with Manny and I can compete with Marquez. Anybody man, and I'm serious...I think I'm getting better to be honest with you. I'm starting to feel more comfortable in the ring and I feel good mentally and physically stronger than these guys that I have been facing...I'm enjoying the rest of the holidays, but come December, I will start back in the gym and start preparing for my next battle. We are looking to get back in there in March or February, as soon as possible, man. I'm just trying to stay in the boxing and public eye and put on a great show with somebody that's willing to fight," stated undefeated jr. welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, who talked about his recent win TKO victory over Joel Casamayor, his future plans, and much more. You don't want to miss what else he had to say. Check it out!
PC: Congratulations on the win over Joel Casamayor. How did you feel in there my man?
TB: You know what? Everything was good in there, man. It was a good win. Casamayor is a tough, veteran opponent, good name on the resume, and I feel I couldn't have looked any better, man. As far as him holding me all night, I don't know man, I expected a different Casamayor. I was expecting him to be a little bit more of a polished boxer. I know he's 40, but when he was, what, 38, he looked good. He fought against Marquez and Marquez got him out of there in the 10th, but he was in the fight against Marquez. But he was no contest for me. He was terrible.
PC: Yeah, when we spoke before the fight, you really thought that Casamayor would treat this like a last ditch effort to save his career and he did everything but that. He was in there trying to tackle you, hold you, and rough you up a little bit more than fight.
TB: Yeah, and I'm a tough cookie, man. I'm very tough in there, man, and I'm durable. As soon as he landed that first left hand over the top and I didn't go anywhere, I knew the fight was gonna be easy from that point on. People were telling me he had power and when I tasted it, it wasn't about nothing (laughing). It was nothing to have me scared about. I mean, I didn't have any fear, so I just walked him down and broke him down.
PC: You also told me before the fight that you didn't know how you were going to feel in there. At what point during the fight did you feel like yourself in there?
TB: You know what? After the 6th, 7th and 8th was when I actually started feeling relaxed and putting things together. I was a little tensed up coming out. I just hadn't been around the ring man, you know? But once I got settled down and started to relax in there, and I started landing, I was hurting him. And I was hurting him with everything. I hurt him a couple of times with the right hand and definitely body shots. I am a tremendous body puncher and I hurt him with some serious body shots. I would say in the 6th, 7th and 8th, I started putting things together.
PC: Was the game plan going in to get to his body because of his age or was that something that you kind of discovered during the fight?
TB: We came in there and the game plan was to go to the body. I was trying to knock him out early and that didn't happen, so my trainer was like, "You gotta go down to that body. You haven't been to his body yet." We worked on body shots and stuff in camp. It was definitely part of the game plan. Like I said, he's 40 years old, and honestly, whether he's 40 or 23, you work that body, you can slow him down and get him up out of there. I started working him a little in the beginning and I started to see him fade and fade and I was like, "Sooner or later, this guy is going to get out of here." I knew I just had to keep placing my shots and applying that smart pressure and it was going to be an easy night. He didn't have a punch to hurt me.
PC: I think your smart pressure, and the key word is smart because you're not reckless in there, and your conditioning will give a lot of fighters problems. When you look at the headline fight that night, Pacquiao/Marquez, do you think stylistically you give someone like Pacquiao problems?
TB: Man, I can compete with any of them guys at that level, man. I can compete with Manny and I can compete with Marquez. Anybody man, and I'm serious. Like my last two fights where everyone said they were going to be hard. That shit was easy, man. Either I'm getting better or these guys, I don't know, I think I'm getting better to be honest with you. I'm starting to feel more comfortable in the ring and I feel good mentally and physically stronger than these guys that I have been facing at 140, man. I haven't been in the ring with anybody stronger than me. I mean, if you ain't got a punch to hurt me man, I'm in your face all night. It's going to be a high intensity and high pressure fight, and that goes for anybody. If you can't hurt me...even if you do hurt me, I'm still coming (laughing).
PC: I was about to say you have proven grit even when you are hurt, like in the Kendall Holt fight.
TB: Right, right, right. And that fight, I just didn't see that punch coming. He hit me with that same left hook in that fight and it didn't move me. Anybody that has speculation on my chin man, I got a chin. Casamayor was supposed to put me down and it ain't happen. He put Robert Guerrero down and Michael Katsidis down a few times, but Bradley got a chin. I got a chin on me man, and at 140, I'm definitely tough for anybody at 140.
PC: Casamayor tested positive for marijuana but, it was after the fight. I immediately thought, what if it wasn't marijuana and it was something else, like some type of performance enhancer, and he's caught after the fact. Being caught after the fight could sometimes be too late. For that reason, are you for more stringent drug testing in boxing?
TB: I think every fighter, especially championship fights, they should all be tested. If there is a will or a way, we need to find out and get more relation on this in boxing. I think we should have to subject ourselves to random testing, especially if you are a guy in the top pound-for-pound standards, we need more testing. We definitely need somebody to step in and start taking over that because I can almost bet my life that there are so many champions out there, and fighters that are not champions yet and they are trying to get there, that are out there trying to gain an edge in the ring, man. And that is unfair. It is very unfair, so I'm totally for it. I'm a clean athlete and if somebody put it together, I will back them 110%. I'm all for the drug testing.
PC: You said your conditioning would be great, even with the layoff, and that proved to be true. I always hate on the shape that you can get in, man (laughing). Tell me you got a gut for Thanksgiving or something my man (laughing)?
TB: (Laughing). I definitely did get down for Thanksgiving, but the 6 pack is still there, man. I definitely gained some weight; I will tell you that much. I had pies and turkey. I definitely got down, man. I'm enjoying the rest of the holidays, but come December, I will start back in the gym and start preparing for my next battle. We are looking to get back in there in March or February, as soon as possible, man. I'm just trying to stay in the boxing and public eye and put on a great show with somebody that's willing to fight (laughing). Like I said, I feel I couldn't look any better than what I did against that guy. I'm the second person to stop him man, so I'm very happy. I would have been very disappointed if I wouldn't have stopped him.
PC: Andre Ward praised you on Twitter for your performance. I don't know if you saw that, but he was really impressed, man. I know he is someone you have a great deal of respect for.
TB: Oh really? Andre Ward, that's my partner right there, man. We grew up together. I know him very well and he knows me very well. I know his family very well and he's a good dude, man. He's a really good dude, man. If that comes from Andre Ward, the Gold medalist, man, he's the man. He's another dude that I admire and I got faith in him. I think he's going to take that Super Six and he's going to be one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the game. He does things in there, he makes adjustments man, and that's what makes him so good. He's like Floyd Mayweather; he's able to outthink his opponents. He's [Floyd Mayweather] a lot quicker than these guys and Andre Ward is the same way; he's a lot quicker than these guys. He outthinks them and he is a class act in and out of the ring. He is the total package to me man, because Andre Ward is definitely a good face for boxing.
PC: Let's clear something up my man, do you have a Twitter account because I know there is at least one phony Timothy Bradley Twitter account out there.
TB: I'm definitely on Twitter and I'm @timbradleyjr. Anything else is a phony, but my Twitter account is @timbradleyjr, so they can all hit me up on that.
PC: You heard it. Go follow my man and one of the best fighters @timbradleyjr on Twitter. I'm not gonna hold you any longer during this holiday break. I know you're spending time with the fam. Is there anything else you want to say in closing?
TB: I'm looking forward to getting back in the ring and giving my fans what they want. I'm trying to get in a position to land the big fights out there and give the fans the fights that they deserve. I gotta definitely thank my team; Team Bradley and Top Rank, and Bob Arum and my management, man. Definitely, man. And I gotta thank you (laughing). Man, you a good dude, man, so I gotta thank you.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]