Timothy Bradley Jr. tries to see if the change in trainer did him any good as he preps himself against Brandon Rios for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title match to be held at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on Nov. 7.
Bradley had a colorful past couple of months, highlighted by that surprise decision to part with longtime trainer Joel Diaz. Succeeding Diaz is Teddy Atlas.
Bradley is, of course, looking to ride on the momentum of his controversial conquest of Jesse Vargas last June. Aside from the much talked about ending, the bout was reportedly the tipping point that led Desert Storm to change his trainer.
On the other end is Rios who will be coming back after a long layoff. Rios last fought in January, dismantling Mike Alvarado.
For his part, Bradley believes that the fight will be decided until the final round. He sees no knockouts (KOs), just a fight that will feature two fighters slugging it out right from the get go.
"How many guys have I knocked out in my whole career? Twelve guys. There is not going to be a knockout in this fight. It's not going to happen. It's just not going to happen. But guess what? I come to fight. And so does Brandon. I come to fight and he comes to fight, so you look at my last fight — I came to fight. I always come to fight," Bradley said via BoxingScene.com.
Both have suffered a loss against Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao; apparently, that is testament to Bradley's belief that both are tough enough to go the distance.
But will either fighter hold back should an opening for a possible KO comes? Well, one never knows, but surely, both are wise enough to avoid such a situation.
The match will be televised live via HBO World Championship Boxing on Saturday, Nov. 7, beginning at 10 p.m. EST.
