"I didn't see the fight, but if you put things together, you see it. Brandon Rios was probably not at his best, probably was at the end, but at the end of the day, Tim Bradley gets a win. Congratulation to him and his team," stated world-class trainer Joel Diaz, who shared his thoughts on Timothy Bradley's KO victory over Brandon Rios this past weekend. Bradley went into his fight against Rios this past Saturday night under the tutelage of new trainer Teddy Atlas. The change ended a 10-year partnership between Bradley and Diaz. Check out what Diaz had to say about Bradley's performance and much more.
LS: What did you think of Tim's performance this past Saturday? He stopped Brandon Rios. I don't know if you got a chance to watch the fight or not, but what did you think of his victory?
JD: Well, honestly, I didn't see the fight. I didn't see the fight, but I mean, I don't need to see the fight to understand what Tim did. I'm glad that he won his fight. You know, I'm very happy he came out with a win against a Brandon Rios. I just came home and heard that he won. I was traveling at the time during the fight. I was traveling, so I didn't get to see the fight. But I saw a lot of Bradley. I saw a lot of Bradley for many years. I knew from the beginning that with that fight, Timothy shouldn't have a problem with Brandon Rios. I mean, at one point, I remember when Brandon Rios fought Mike Alvarado and we were there watching the fight and I told Tim, "Tim, you will beat Alvarado and Brandon Rios in the same night." Because at that time, [Rios and Alvarado] had already fought once. I think it was the second fight. When they fought the second fight, we were both there and I told Tim, "You know what, Tim? I see how these guys are. They're slow already and already diminished a lot in their careers. You're at the top of your game. Right now, you could beat those two guys in the same night."
So I wasn't expecting Tim to lose this fight because knowing Tim and knowing Brandon, I knew Tim would be smart enough to beat Brandon Rios. I mean, as far as I'm concerned, I came to the gym right now and everybody is talking about Brandon Rios was just there to take a beating. He wasn't even throwing any punches and he was just a fighter that was just standing in the middle of the ring. But again, I don't know because I didn't even see the fight. I didn't see the fight, but if you put things together, you see it. Brandon Rios was probably not at his best, probably was at the end, but at the end of the day, Tim Bradley gets a win. Congratulation to him and his team. They did a great job because Tim going into a fight against Brandon Rios and getting reckless and trying to be brave, maybe he could've got hit with a lucky shot. But obviously he fought a smart fight and did a great plan of attack. He came out with a win, and better yet, he put [Rios] down with a body shot in the 9th round. What better than that? That gives Tim an opportunity and the possibility of another big fight in the future. So we're going to see a lot more of Tim Bradley.
LS: You know, it's funny because a lot of people were talking about the pairing of Tim and Teddy getting off to a great start and everyone's giving them credit, but I told someone earlier today that the fact that you and Tim won 5 world titles, you can't just sweep that under the rug. Do you feel you got the proper credit or do you feel it's being overlooked at some point? How do you feel about it?
JD: Honestly, as long as I know what I did; as long as Tim Bradley knows what we did together, the rest, it doesn't matter. You know, it really doesn't bother me. You know, it got to a point one time, it got to a point where like, shit, it bothers me, the fact that they're saying that Tim said that he learned more in 3 days [with Teddy] than he did with me in 10 years. Well, it bothers me, but then I said, you know what, it is what it is. If he didn't learn much from me, he still won 5 world titles. He went 30-1. So what does that mean? That with the little bit that he learned from me, he accomplished a lot. And whatever it is, if it was a little bit or a lot and as minimal as it is that he learned from me, he won 5 titles. And you know, that makes me feel good.
It doesn't bother me what they say because at the end of the day, there's a God up there. There's a God up there and God always looks down at the people that do the work. God always looks down at the people who speak the truth. And you know, it doesn't bother me. I wish him the best. I hope that him and Teddy can keep going on and take on the best fighters out there. I honestly feel it from the heart. I want to be able to see Tim Bradley accomplish a lot more. He deserves it. He's a great kid. He works extremely hard. I've always said I've seen a lot of fighters in the world that train and procrastinate and they have no discipline. And Tim Bradley is one of the hardest trainers I've ever seen. I always say that fighters that work hard deserve the best in the world and I wish Tim Bradley the best because he works extremely hard. Now with Teddy Atlas, if things were meant to be with him and Teddy Atlas to be together at the end of his career and to make it better for himself, you know what, I wish them the best. I hope to see a lot more of Tim Bradley. I hope Tim Bradley fights some of the best fighters out there right now and be successful and keep going on for him and his family.
LS: As far as Brandon Rios, he retired after his fight. He's 29 years old. Were you surprised and are you kind of happy he's making that decision? Because he said he's being honest with himself and doesn't think he has anything left.
JD: I think Brandon Rios made the right decision. I mean, he's been in so many wars. I think fighters like Brandon Rios have given the fans and the people what they want to see with their type of fighting. The Mexican style of fighting. They give you the best of them. It's a short career. Boxing is short term career. You have to be smart to be in the sport longer. You have to be able to move and box like Mayweather does. He's still in the business because he's a smart fighter. But if you're a brawler, if you're an attacker like Brandon Rios is or like Ruslan is, and like all these fighters; I saw it in my own brothers. Antonio Diaz, to me, my brother was honestly one of my best fighters ever. I've always worked with my brother and I coached him and trained him myself, but behind the scenes, because he's my own brother, I never got to tell him, "You know what, man, I'm your biggest fan because I love the way you fight." He always gave it his best and I wanted to see him. Sometimes I'll go back and watch some of his fights because I get an adrenaline rush just watching my own brother fight, but what happens? You give the people what they want to see, your career is shorter, because you take so much beatings. Regardless if you're young and strong, you want to please the fans, but at the end of the day, you become a short career fighter. And that's the way it is with Brandon Rios. He gave the people what they wanted to see and he feels that his body cannot provide for him anymore, so he has to call it quits. He's making the right decision.
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