MANILA, Philippines – After seeing Manny Pacquiao drenched in blood during his fight with Jeff Horn last month, Timothy Bradley decided he’s had enough of boxing.
Speaking at an episode of SiriusXM’s “At The Fights,” Bradley, who worked the bout as an analyst for ESPN, said he doesn’t want to go the same route as Pacquiao and fight past his prime.
“I broadcasted the Manny Pacquiao fight in Australia. And I was sitting there and I was watching the fight, and I just saw like Manny kinda wither away slightly – not crazy. He won the fight, but it was just like, I saw him all bloody and just, you know, beat up, and just been through hell,” said the former super lightweight and welterweight champion.
Pacquiao lost the WBO welterweight title to Horn last July 2 in Brisbane, Australia, in an action-packed bout that left him with cuts on both sides of the head due to accidental headbutts. The Filipino icon struggled with the younger Australian’s size and rough tactics – something that would be hard to imagine had they fought at Pacquiao’s prime.
A bloodied Manny Pacquiao during his fight with Jeff Horn.
Now Bradley has Pacquiao to thank for in coming up with the decision to hang up his gloves.
“And I looked over to my wife, and I said, ‘Hey, I wanna talk to you after this fight.’ And from there, that’s when I was just like, ‘You know, I don’t wanna be in here fighting for a paycheck,” he continued.
“You know, I have my legacy. I’ve done it. I don’t wanna be in here and take that type of punishment anymore. I don’t think I can.’
Interestingly, Bradley’s last bout was against Pacquiao last year in Las Vegas, with the American losing a unanimous decision. Bradley and Pacquiao had fought twice prior to their rubber match, with the former winning controversially in their first meeting in 2012.
Bradley touts impressive wins over quality opposition such as Lamont Peterson, Devon Alexander, Ruslan Provodnikov, and former Pacquiao foes Juan Manuel Marquez, Jessie Vargas and Brandon Rios.
And he believes he would have beaten Horn at his peak.
“And the old Bradley, like the Bradley that was on the rise, was like, I would look at Horn and I would look at all of his mistakes, and I would say, ‘I would eat that guy alive. Bring him on now,’” he said.
Unfortunately, Bradley knows his best days are gone.
“But the Bradley mindset now is, ‘I don’t know if I wanna go through all that torture, go through all that pain and go through that mess anymore. I don’t have the guts for it anymore, man. I’m gonna have to bag out.’”
