Bradley vs. Rios: Post-fight Interview
Timothy Bradley won a fight he needed badly on Saturday night in one of the best performances of his career at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, defeating Brandon Rios by technical knockout in the ninth round to retain the WBO welterweight title in a welterweight division that is wide open following Floyd Mayweather's retirement.Bradley (33-1-1, 13 knockouts) claimed the belt after his June 7 victory over Jessie Vargas. The WBO had earlier stripped Floyd Mayweather Jr. of the belt he won by unanimous decision over Manny Pacquiao on May 2nd following Mayweather's refusal to pay sanctioning dues.
Bradley controlled the fight from the opening bell against a sluggish Rios, using his speed and superior boxing skills to win all the rounds before unexpectedly downing Rios with a hard right to the gut followed by a good left hook to the body.
Rios got up at the count of eight but offered no resistance to Bradley when the fight restarted and quickly went down under another burst of punches at 2:49 of the round before referee Tony Weeks ended proceedings.It was an impressive performance for Bradley under new trainer Teddy Atlas as he won every round on all three ringside scorecards without sustaining any serious injury before the fight’s sudden end.
Bradley had brought in Atlas, more known recently as a ringside announcer for ESPN, to sharpen his skills and stop him from getting hit too much.
More important for Bradley in the win is that he may have served notice that he's a name to be reckoned with in the 147-pound division. He might have even been impressive enough to get a third fight against Manny Pacquiao sometime next spring in what would be Pacquiao's last fight.
'That's the best Bradley I've ever seen,' said Bob Arum, who promotes both fighters.
Rios said he would probably retire after the loss, - 'The better man won. I have no excuses,' Rios said. 'I think I'm done.'
Abena Alice with news wires
