Bradley: Rematch will be decisive

LAS VEGAS—In the run-up to his showdown with Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao, Timothy Bradley Jr. showed supreme confidence.

He threatened to punish, dominate, even “kill” the Filipino icon when they meet in the ring. He described Pacquiao as being “old blood” and on the wane.

When they finally clashed Saturday (Sunday in Manila), Bradley learned that he was wrong on almost every count.

He found out, like many other fighters before him, that Pacquiao is on another level.

“Pacquiao’s tough, very gifted. He’s got speed, everything,” said Bradley, who was staggered by Pacquiao’s combinations several times, especially in the first six rounds.

Bradley said he twisted his ankle early on and this was the reason why he had trouble eluding Pacquiao’s lunges.

“But I went through the pain and did my best,” the still undefeated American said.

Nursing his swollen feet, Bradley was ushered in on a wheelchair during the postfight conference. He will be thoroughly examined and X-rayed later in a hospital, according to team handlers.

“I stepped on his foot in the second and it twisted after the pop,” said Bradley. “I think I broke my foot, but I kept going.”

But Bradley said he doesn’t feel any pain.

Ignoring questions on the legitimacy of his victory, he said he feels on the top of the world.

“We did it baby,” Bradley told a handful of supporters at the postfight conference.

“We shocked the world.”

The American’s win shocked the boxing world, indeed. But, going by his earlier statements, just before the verdict was announced, he thought Pacquiao had won.

Fight fans and pundits around the world were stunned (See story on A1).

Pacquiao was deprived of victory at the site of some of his most memorable wins in the United States, particularly his annihilation of Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto.

Despite what many said was  a “ridiculous” decision, Bradley now claims that he’s now No. 2 in the pound-for-pound list, trailing the imprisoned Floyd Mayweather Jr., whom he ranked ahead of Pacquiao before the bout.

Grateful to Pacquiao for giving him the opportunity to fight for the crown, Bradley said, “I’d definitely like to do this again. Let’s make it more decisive.”

Bradley, however, believes he’d done enough to pull off the upset.

“A lot of the shots (Pacquiao) was throwing was missing,” said Bradley. “I did well using my jabs. Look at my face it’s completely clean.”

There are images that stuck in Bradley’s mind after the bout. The first was the way Pacquiao delivered his punches.

“He can put his punches together and they all hurt,” admitted Bradley.

The second, he said, was that Pacquiao always kept his hands up and that made him difficult to hit.

For the rematch, Bradley said he would go back to the drawing board to correct the flaws that made him an easy target for the Filipino.

Bradley said it was only because he’s in great physcial shape that he didn’t go down.

Otherwise, as many fight fans say, the judges wouldn’t have been able to help him.