Timothy Bradley was an underdog going into last Saturday's bout with Manny Pacquiao. Hyping himself up on HBO 24/7, however, he managed to turn many people into believers. He was undefeated. He was full of confidence. He trained hard. He looked strong and muscular. He talked like he had the fight won. Even if you were rooting for Bradley, there's no way you could've predicted that he would win a controversial split decision. Not over Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas, Nevada. The general thought was that it would be hard for Bradley to win a decision. After all, why mess up the money fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather? I guess the judges didn't get that memo.
In the end, Bradley defied the odds and walked away with the victory, despite most observers believing Pacquiao had won anywhere between 8 to 10 rounds of the fight. Pacquiao was all class after the fight, though you could sense he was still shocked by the verdict. Bradley also had a look of surprise on his face, a sign that he too couldn't believe what was just announced. Regardless of the outcome, both fighters put up a good performance overall. The fight was entertaining, even if you think the wrong man got the decision.
The question now is where does Timothy Bradley go from here? Even though Bradley won, it feels like he's the loser with his win tainted by the controversy surrounding the decision. He started to gain some fan support before the fight, and beating one of the best fighters in the world should have been one of the greatest moments in his life. Instead, Bradley's career may have taken a hit, his stocking falling not only from his performance, but from the dark cloud of a looming investigation into the decision being pushed by his own promoter. Unfortunately for Bradley, despite the win, his future still rests in the hands of the man he supposedly beat.
Still being one of the biggest names in the sport, Pacquiao will decide Bradley's fate with his own next move. Before the fight, Bradley assumed a rematch would be a foregone conclusion should he win, but given the controversial outcome, that notion could be in jeopary. Pacquiao may decide to take a 4th fight with Juan Manuel Marquez in the fall instead. If he decides to go that route, then that leaves Bradley on the outside looking in with no potential big name out there to fight. One might assume that Bradley will likely face another Top Rank fighter, but with previously undefeated Mike Jones just being knocked out by Randall Bailey, that doesn't leave him with very many options. So as I stated, the question is, where does Bradley go from here?
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