Bradley, (24-0-1 NC, 11
KOs), of Palm Springs, Calif., and Peterson (27-0, 13 KOs),
of Washington, D.C., participated in a national media
conference call to discuss their upcoming world title mega-matchup
on Saturday, Dec. 12
live on SHOWTIME®
(9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast).
In an excellent battle of
unbeatens, Bradley will defend his WBO 140-pound title
against interim champ Peterson at
The Show at Agua Caliente
Casino • Resort • Spa in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
The telecast will open with WBC/WBA Super Flyweight Champion
Vic Darchinyan
(32-2-1, 26 KOs), of Sydney, Australia, defending his
belts against WBC interim titlist
Tomas Rojas
(31-11-1, 22 KOs) of Mexico.
Bradley, who is coming off
a No Contest against former unified lightweight world
champion Nate Campbell
on Aug. 1 on SHOWTIME, is on a hot streak in the stacked
140-pound division. Bradley originally won the fight via
highly controversial third-round TKO, but the decision was
later changed to a NC by the California State Athletic
Commission due to an accidental head butt that opened a cut
over Campbell’s left eye.
Peterson, who is one of
the hottest prospects in boxing, is coming off a
seventh-round TKO over previously unbeaten
Willy Blain on
April 25, 2009 for the interim WBO junior welterweight
title. Now he has his first shot at a world title against a
man that no one in the division has been able to beat.
The 12-rounders are
promoted by Gary Shaw Productions and Thompson Boxing
Promotions, in association with Top Rank and Agua Caliente
Casino • Resort • Spa.
TIMOTHY
BRADLEY OPENING COMMENTS:
“There’s nothing like
fighting at home and I’m glad to be back. I’m glad that my
promoters were able to make that possible.”
“Lamont Peterson is a
great fighter; I grew up with him in the amateurs. I know
him very well and he knows me very well. I’m just looking
forward to the fight. I’m hungry and I’m willing to show the
world what I have. We’re both undefeated, which makes for a
great fight. We both have speed and power, and we both have
boxing ability, so it’s going to be a great fight. But, at
the end of the day, it’s my job to teach Lamont Peterson how
to lose, and that’s what I’m going to do on Dec. 12.”
Tim, what are your thoughts on the result of your last
fight?
BRADLEY:
“I’m way over that. Things happened and you just have to
move on. My biggest focus right now is on Dec. 12. As far
as it goes with (Nate) Campbell, I’m over that. I’ve been
over that for months, so I’m moving onto the next challenge,
and that’s Lamont Peterson.”
How important is it to you to have to people, fans and
experts understand how good Timothy Bradley is?
BRADLEY:
“You can basically look at my resume and see that in less
than one year I one two world titles. I’m still young,
I’ve fought on the road, like a veteran, and I won on the
road. People don’t understand how much pressure there is on
a fighter when he fights on the road. I beat Junior Witter
on the road to win the world title and didn’t get much
credit for that. On the road, that just shows you how
determined I am to being great. At the end of the day,
after I beat Lamont Peterson, people are going to start
realizing that, ‘I’m going to stop betting against this guy
and I’m going to get on the bandwagon.’”
Where does your tenacity come from?
BRADLEY:
“I think it just comes from my love for the sport. I just
love what I do and I have that competitive nature. I made a
promise to my promoter that they line ‘em up and I’m going
to knock them all down. I have a great team supporting me
and I have a lot of faith in my abilities and myself. I
train extremely hard for every fight like it’s my last
fight, and that’s pretty much what puts me over the top, my
conditioning level and how I take care of myself before and
after training camp.”
Do you feel like you’re getting the respect you deserve?
BRADLEY:
“I don’t know, everybody has their opinions. It doesn’t
really bother me. Dec. 12, just come out and watch the
fight. You’re going to see a big difference. Boxing is
about style, styles make fights. He could give me problems,
but we’re going to see. He’s a much taller opponent with a
lot longer reach, but that’s not going to keep me off of
you. I’m coming in there to get him, and we’ll see how long
he lasts.”
Has it been any different fighting at home?
BRADLEY: “It’s
the same. There’s a little added pressure, but this is my
job, this is what I do. I know I have to get in there and
take care of business, but I’m a little more relaxed now, a
lot more mature. I’m not as nervous or anxious as I
normally am.
“This fight is a mandatory
fight. If I were to lose this fight, there’s no way I could
get my belt back from this guy. That’s my only pressure, is
losing my title. That’s it.”
Being that Lamont is more of a counter-puncher, you might
have to be more of an aggressor. Is that something that you
guys have worked on in this fight?
BRADLEY:
“My natural style is being aggressive, so I don’t have to
work on it too much. I love to get it on, and sometimes I
don’t use my head and I’ll get caught with some stupid shots
I shouldn’t have. My trainer is working on slowing me down
a little bit, let me take my time and pick me shot. We’ve
been working on that a lot, but as far as coming forward to
fight, I’m always game.”
You keep taking tough fights. Why?
BRADLEY:
“I just want to fight the best fighters in the world.
That’s pretty much it. I’ve told my promoters that I want to
fight the best fighters in the world. Will I ever get a
chance to fight Manny Pacquiao fight, probably not? Those
guys are mega-fighters. I just want to fight the best.
Anybody that’s in my weight class who’s considered the best,
that’s who I want to fight. I’ve had it in my heart for a
long time that I wanted to fight these guys (Pacquiao and
Floyd Mayweather), but I’ve let that go. I’ll just fight
whoever they give me.”
LAMONT
PETERSON OPENING COMMENTS:
“I’ve been training ever
since I went out to California to see Timothy and Nate
fight. We pretty much knew this was going to be my next
fight, we just didn’t know when at the time. Right now,
I’ve been in great shape for two or three months. We’re just
trying to level everything out and doing what we need to do
to give us a chance to win. We feel really good right now,
and we’re looking to go ahead and win the title on Dec. 12.
What does it mean to you to have Lamont to fight for a world
title?
BARRY
HUNTER
(Lamont’s Trainer):
“The day Lamont stepped
into the gym we’ve been gearing up for this day to fight for
a world title. When you look at two young people like
Anthony and Lamont that went from what they went from at
such an early age, to actually come from that a win a world
title would be just huge. It would send a message clear
across the map that if you don’t like where you are and
where you are is a bad place you can do something about it.
You don’t have to always stay there.”
How does it feel to be fighting for a world title?
PETERSON: “It’s
a dream come true. A lot of times you talk about us being
out in the street, a lot of the times it got me through just
dreaming of this day of fighting to become a world
champion. It’s really an honor and I’m really thankful. It
wasn’t just me alone. I dreamed of this day, but there was
a lot of people who helped this dream come true, and I have
to give thanks to them. Right now, I’m living my dream.
I’m just happy about the fight and giving it my all because
I know this is it.”
Is it hard to believe that you’re fighting for a world
championship, considering where you came from?
PETERSON:
“I always dreamed of this day, and I always thought this
day had come. But when it actually came I was like, wow, I
have come a long way. To survive in that type of
environment, I had to be a certain way. I had to make some
changes to get to this point, and coach Barry helped with
that. It’s crazy. It’s weird, but I like it.”
Are there any butterflies?
PETERSON:
“That’s mental work that I work on every night, at least 30
minutes a night. I understand that it’s a world title fight
and I might have butterflies, but if I work on that every
night, I should be prepared. Mentally, I’m prepared for
that, I’m prepared to get knocked down or go 12, but if you
prepare correctly, you should be ready to get in the ring
when the time comes.”
Can you talk about your relationship with Timmy from the
amateurs?
PETERSON:
“He’s a pretty cool guy. We don’t have a really close
relationship. As far as his fighting style, he’s very
determined and he comes to win. He comes to fight and he
comes to win, and I respect him as a fighter. From the
amateurs to the pros, same style, it just seems like he’s in
better condition now, as a pro, which he should be. I’m
more of a thinking first fighter, but, if need be, I can go
in there and bang with the best of them. With me, I make my
adjustments in the ring. I think whatever Timothy brings, I
should be able to make the adjustments.”
How do you plan to utilize your height and reach advantage?
PETERSON:
“Of course, you can use your reach in different ways. I
don’t have to move back to use my reach. I can move forward
and keep him at reach and keep my jab and straight punches
at him.
.Regardless if I’m moving back or moving
forward, I’ll use my reach and just try to take advantage of
that.
What type of fight will it be? Will it be a fight, fight or
more of a chess match?
PETERSON:
“I’m prepared for both because Timothy can box, and I know
he can bang. And I know I can box and I know I can bang.
It’s hard to say now. What strategy I decide to use in the
fight and what he decides to use, I guess that will
determine how the fight will play out. But, it could go
either way. It could be an all out war or it could be a
chess match. I’m ready for either one.”
You’re taking on a tough champion for your title shot. Does
that concern you?
PETERSON:
“It’s OK with me. I wouldn’t have it any other way. A lot
of guys fight someone they know they can beat. But, with me
it’s about fighting the best. If a fight comes up, you take
it. It’s also a good thing for me because I don’t have to
go through the other guys. I’m fighting the No. 1 at 140
pounds. If I can jump over the other guys then that will be
good for me.”
What was the most impressive fight you’ve seen from Bradley?
HUNTER:
“I think the fight against Kendall Holt was the most
impressive for me. Not the fact that he won the fight, but
that he came back from getting knocked down. That showed
that he was in great condition. And his awareness, when he
got knocked down he got up and took a knee. He was aware to
the point where he took a knee, got himself back together,
and he won the fight. That was very, very impressive.”
CLOSING COMMENTS:
HUNTER: “We
are elated to have this opportunity. Timmy is a friend,
but, nevertheless, the path to a world title is through him,
and that’s the path we’re going to take. I’m very confident
we’re going to walk out of the ring with a world title.
PETERSON:
“I will take full
advantage of this opportunity on Dec. 12 and I will be
champion. Tune in on Dec. 12, because it’s going to be a
great fight.”
