"Both sides agreed to fight verbally and I agreed to the contract extension verbally as well. I just want to thank Top Rank, man, for basically everything that they done; thank Top Rank and definitely HBO. They gave me everything I asked for, so I can't complain. I'm happy with the terms and satisfied with it," stated undefeated WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, who spoke to FightHype.com about the recent news that he agreed to a multi-fight contract extension with Top Rank, thus finalizing his anticipated April 12 rematch with multi-division world champion Manny Pacquiao. According to Bradley, he never had any doubt that he would get an opportunity to prove once and for all that his victory in their first fight was deserved.
"There really wasn't a doubt, man. You know, you never know in this boxing business. It's just like one day, it's one thing, and next day, it's another thing, but I don't really worry about it, man. I didn't really worry about if I was going to fight Pacquiao or not, you know what I mean. It was just like, hey, I'd like to fight him, you know, does he want to fight me? That was basically it. That's how the conversation started," Bradley commented as he explained how the rematch came together. "They didn't know or ask me if I was interested. I came to them, I sat down and was like, 'Okay, I want to fight some time maybe in March or April,' and I said, 'We need to talk about some possible opponents and some guys I could face.' They mentioned a couple names and then I said, 'Well, what about Pacquiao? Is he interested in fighting me?' And they said, 'Well, we'll check.' And that's just how it came about. It wasn't like, 'I want to fight Pacquiao! I want to fight Pacquiao!' I was just like, let me see all the options out there and then I'll pick the best option."
Bradley continued, "I thought we were gonna maybe run it back due to the controversy and everything, but he chose to do whatever he wanted to do. So at that time, it was just like, hey, I need to sit down and see which path I'ma take. He didn't want to do the rematch, but I need to rebuild my career and, you know, move forward in my career and not really worry about Manny. That's when I fought Provodnikov and I had success with that. Whatever happened in that fight definitely helped boost my career. And then I was like, you know what, I want to fight new blood; let me test the guy that knocked out Pacquiao. And I beat Marquez hands down. You know, I always wanted to get it on with Pacquiao again, you know what I mean. It was always in the back of my head, but I was just like, eh, I'll let it materialize again. He didn't want to run it back the first time right after the controversy, so I was like, you know what, I'll take my time. He took his time; I take my time. Now, it's time, man. I think it's perfect for both of us. I think that I can basically redeem from what the first fight I didn't get. In this fight, I can get all the credit for beating Pacquiao this time. I didn't get no credit for the first fight. A lot of people, a lot of spectators, a lot of fans felt that I didn't deserve it; that I didn't win the fight. You know, that's kind of hard, man, you know what I mean? That's hard for me and I don't think I can move forward in my career without fighting this guy again and putting no doubts in peoples' mind and actually beating him convincingly, man. This is my opportunity to do that and I'm gonna do it."
BE SURE TO CHECK BACK SOON FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH UNDEFEATED WBO WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION TIMOTHY BRADLEY
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