By Edward Chaykovsky
Former two division world champion Timothy Bradley (31-1, 12KOs) says he went with the wrong game plan when he went up against Manny Pacquiao in their rematch earlier this year. In 2012, Bradley won a controversial twelve round split decision. Pacquiao dominated the rematch for a clear twelve round unanimous decision win.
Bradley feels he would have done a lot better if he would have stayed calm and tried to outbox Pacquiao round by round. He was too paranoid of being robbed on the cards, because of the controversy of the first fight, and saw the knockout as the surest way to victory.
"I went in there with the mindset that I had to knock this guy out in order to win and having that type of mindset threw me off my game. The plan was to outbox Pacquiao and everybody knew it and Pacquiao himself knew it and I didn’t do that. I went straight at him and attacked him. I did have some success attacking him but I think I could have done a lot better if I took my time and tried to outbox him and if it goes to a decision and I lose then that’s fine," Bradley said.
"If I stayed true to my form and my abilities and did what got me to the top I should have been alright in that ring and been OK. But I didn’t do that and got a little out of my context of what I do. Like in this fight, I’ve just go to do me. Do what got me to the top and continue to do me from here on out. I can’t worry about judges and worry about decisions, just fight the best fight that I possibly can and win the fight and whatever happens after the fight happens, regardless. I have no control over certain things."
Bradley is back on Saturday, against Diego Chaves (23-2, 19KOs), at the Cosmopolitan Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
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