Not surprisingly, much of the first episode of 24/7 deals with their first fight in which Timothy Bradley was given one of the worst decisions in recent boxing history, at least when it comes to big fights. But, in hindsight, it almost hurts to even say that because Bradley is such a hard worker and likable person. He’s an easy fan favorite. But still, he lost that fight.
(I forgot about the issues with his foot and turning his ankle during the fight.)
In a sense, you feel sorry for Bradley because even in winning the decision, he wasn’t given any credit. In fact, he was more famous than ever, but for the wrong reasons. You also felt bad for Pacquiao because he’s such an earnest person when it comes to fighting. He’s not braggadocios. And when he said that there’s no way he lost that fight, you believed him.
In hindsight, Bradley says that when Pacquiao was knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez, it took the pressure off Bradley and put it squarely on Pacquiao.
Whatever respect Bradley didn’t get from the Pacquiao decision, he got back in his next two fights against Ruslan Provodnikov and Juan Manuel Marquez. Bradley stood toe-to-toe with Provodnikov, winning a tough decision (and pissing blood after the fight). And then he outboxed Marquez and said it was an easy fight.
Many great athletes have great memories. They hold onto negative comments and feedback and use them for inspiration. Bradley is like that. He says that he needs to go back to the moment of the fight fight to truly get over it.
For Pacquiao, it’s the question of whether he still has it or not. He says that he wasn’t aggressive enough in their first bout and needs to go back to the aggressive Pacquiao of old.
Thoughts: This was a really good recap of how we got to where we are today. It was almost like an introduction to 24/7. But it is necessary to tell the whole story. The upcoming episodes really have a chance to give Bradley enough of a platform for a star turn. But in the end, he has to win the fight. I can’t wait for next week.
Edit: The video is now up and is below.