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TIMOTHY BRADLEY: "KHAN WAS FOULING...I WOULD SERIOUSLY DO DAMAGE TO THAT BOY"

By Percy Crawford | December 14, 2011
TIMOTHY BRADLEY:

"Khan was fouling. He was definitely fouling. He kept pushing, and it wasn't like a little shove; it was a push, literally. And everybody can go back and say whatever they wanna say, but the footage is there. The film is there. You go back and watch the footage and see how much Khan pushed this guy up off of him. I could count 30 to 40 times he did that...I've always said that Amir fights at one speed, and that's full speed the whole fight. He don't know how to settle down and use his reach. He doesn't know how to relax yet. He still has an amateur style where it's offense, offense, offense. He never relies on defense, and defense will go a long way in a championship fight...I was like, man, this guy is straight basic. He's just one-two, one-two, one-two-three-four. That was it; combinations, combinations and combinations. He wasn't really trying to set up his shots to me...I've always known that Khan can't take pressure...I would seriously do damage to that boy. It would be a good fight because he is very offensive, but a lot of that stuff he threw the other night would not hit me," stated WBO jr. welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, who shared his thoughts on last Saturday's clash between Amir Khan and Lamont Peterson. You do not want to miss what else he had to say. Check it out!

PC: I know you tuned in to the Khan/Peterson fight. What are your thoughts on the way the fight played out?

TB: Congratulations to Lamont Peterson for bringing us an entertaining fight. I loved the fight, man. I thought it was...Khan did his thing. He came out and fought. He lost the fight himself. The only person he can blame is himself. Peterson stepped up and brought it to him. I've been in the ring with Peterson, so I knew exactly what he brought to the table, man. I thought Khan had a little more boxing ability than what he showed in that fight, but Peterson's pressure definitely persevered and I'm happy he got the victory. It was a hard fight and a good win and he earned it, man. He definitely earned it.

PC: I don't like when I see a young fighter like Khan constantly talking about Timothy Bradley and constantly talking about Floyd Mayweather when you have a guy like Lamont Peterson in front of you. I'm not saying he was overlooking Lamont, but he sure did talk about you and Floyd a lot.

TB: I think that he looked over Peterson for sure, without a doubt. He thought Peterson wasn't anything. They probably went back and looked at the Victor Ortiz fight or whatever, but I knew that this guy was a different type of fighter. Lamont has the same abilities that he brought in our fight, but the thing is, I think he is a lot more seasoned and polished and he's more comfortable in there. He has that big fight experience now, so this fight was perfect timing. When we had fought, he was undefeated and he had this swagger about him because he wanted to keep it going. But once he tasted that defeat, it made him stronger, so that helps in a fight, and fighting against Victor Ortiz and getting dropped a couple of times and bouncing back, I knew if Victor Ortiz couldn't take him out and knock him out, then Khan definitely wasn't going to be able to do anything with him. I picked Khan to win the fight, but I told everybody it's going to be a tough tough fight for him and it was.

PC: I think even the commentary dropped the ball on the amount of times the ref actually warned Khan for pushing, and he did, at one point, say that's my last warning. Now, I'm not saying two points were warranted, but I think the first point was definitely warranted.

TB: Let me tell you something, man, Khan was fouling. He was definitely fouling. He kept pushing, and it wasn't like a little shove; it was a push, literally. And everybody can go back and say whatever they wanna say, but the footage is there. The film is there. You go back and watch the footage and see how much Khan pushed this guy up off of him. I could count 30 to 40 times he did that. You can go back and check that out, and you can go back and check out how many times he was pushing Peterson's head down. He was complaining about Peterson getting low, which is a smart thing to do against a tall fighter; get low on them. He kept pushing Lamont's head down and the ref was warning him about that and he should have taken a point for that. If I was Peterson, I would have hit him with a low blow or something, and tell him, "Hey man, stop pushing my head down." But the thing is, I don't think the ref was a huge factor in the fight. That last point was a deciding factor in the fight, and that's the reason why Peterson did win the fight because he did take that last point away, but if you go back and look at the knockdown where Peterson slipped, he didn't even get hit with a shot. So I mean, it wasn't a knockdown and that makes it even. Everybody getting all emotional about the decision saying, "Ah, it was a hometown decision." No, no, no, no, man! Peterson backed him up all night. You got the champion running around the ring all night, then you making a statement. You taking the fight to the champion and that's how you win championship fights. Now, the whole Marquez and Pacquiao thing, Marquez didn't back Pacquiao up all night. If he would have, he would have won the fight, but he didn't bring it to the champ. He counter punched, but he didn't bring it to him. Peterson brought it to Khan. He hit him with some clean shots, man. He landed over 100 body shots. I know exactly how Khan felt after the fight. His stomach was probably burning and he was probably pissing blood after the fight. I've been in there with Peterson and I felt his wrath. The kid is no joke man, and he got the heart of a lion. He is no joke and he is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

PC: Lamont was landing some hard body punches.

TB: Absolutely. And I've always said that Amir fights at one speed, and that's full speed the whole fight. He don't know how to settle down and use his reach. He doesn't know how to relax yet. He still has an amateur style where it's offense, offense, offense. He never relies on defense, and defense will go a long way in a championship fight. Offense goes a long way and wins matches, but defense wins championships and he lacks that. He lacked that in that fight. I was kind of...I wouldn't say bothered by it, but I was like, man, this guy is straight basic. He's just one-two, one-two, one-two-three-four. That was it; combinations, combinations and combinations. He wasn't really trying to set up his shots to me. A lot of people might think differently.

PC: Well, one thing that jumped out at me was that Lamont's pressure really gave him problems. I think your pressure actually has another gear.

TB: I've always said that though. I've always said my pressure would make him fold. I'm on my own mission. "Bradley ducked Khan. Bradley ducked Khan." I knew what I could do to Khan. I knew exactly what I could do to Khan, just like I knew exactly what I could do to Devon Alexander. I was waiting on the right time to execute and that's what I do. This is not only a sport, it's a business. I have my own plan and my own business moves that I'm trying to do, and at that time, Khan wasn't in my business plans. I had to get over and go with a big time promoter like Top Rank to be in the position to do what I'm trying to do business-wise. A lot of people say, "I'm sure Bradley wanna fight Khan now." I've always known that Khan can't take pressure. I watched him in Vegas when he fought Marcos Maidana. I sat there with my wife and brother-in-law and I said, "This boy cannot take pressure." I said over and over and over, "He has no inside game." I put myself in Maidana's shoes and I'm like, I'm way quicker, I'm way faster. I mean, he probably hit harder than me, but I come in shape. I can come all night and I let my hands go. I'm more accurate with my punches. I'm not a wild man like Maidana. I would seriously do damage to that boy. It would be a good fight because he is very offensive, but a lot of that stuff he threw the other night would not hit me.

And the thing is, a Khan fight would still be a good fight. The last couple of fights he has been having, he put on some good fights and he had some good performances and he looked good. I'm not going to take anything away from him. He put on some exciting fights. A fight with Khan would still be an exciting fight. Granted, he lost the title, but it would still be a great fight. After my last fight, when I had a little comeback fight, I said, "I'm willing to take on anybody at any place and at any time." I'm willing to take on anybody, and that means Khan and anybody else. It don't matter to me. I want to fight all of the top guys. People say I'm ducking him and I'm like, "I'm right here." Any top guy can contact my people and let's do it. It really doesn't matter to me who it is. From here on out, I got where I wanted to be. I got exactly where I wanted to be because I had a vision in mind and now that I'm where I want to be, it doesn't matter who I fight now. It really doesn't matter who I fight. I just want to fight the best out there.

PC: Fans will always think like fans. Did it bother you when fans were saying you were ducking him?

TB: Nah, because no one never really heard my side of the story, and when I explain my side, they think it's just garbage. But in all reality, they thought it was just garbage when I was fighting against Devon Alexander, and then once we gave them that fight and it didn't live up to expectation, then I'm the most targeted fighter on the planet. But you know, that fight wasn't anything. They were like, "We expected a lot more." I came to fight. I was letting my hands go, but hey, the other brother didn't. It would be the same way with Khan too. So it's like, come on, man. I don't mean to sound arrogant. I just know these guys don't work harder than me, man. They don't work harder than me, they not as focused as me, and they not stronger than me, period. I know it. I'm confident in my ability and I'm confident in my strength and I can adjust in the ring; Khan can't. It's one game plan from him and that's it; hit and hold. That's the only game plan he has against anybody. If you can get in there and hit him to the body and rough him up, he gonna have a long, long night. I mean, the kid has heart. I ain't gonna lie. He does, but you can't let heart get in the way of a fight, and that shows he's inexperienced. He on the ropes getting hit and getting clocked and he smirking like, "Oh, I'm not hurt." Dude, you're in a fight bro. What are you doing? What do you have to prove? He's inexperienced. You in there with a dog like me, man, and you pushing my head down, you getting clocked. I'm telling you, man! You push my head down, you already know I'm trying to reach over the top of you. I'm already kind of feeling bad for you. That's the way I feel. Congratulations to Lamont Peterson, man. It was a great performance. I was happy that Lamont Peterson won the fight and that's it. It's as simple as that.



[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]

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