Bradley: "I want that green belt!"

By Antonio Castro
Photos courtesy of Tom Casino/Showtime

Ricky Hatton may not want to fight Junior Witter, but Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley does.

Bradley (21-0, 11 KOs) - the WBC #1 ranked super lightweight contender - will get a world title shot as he takes on WBC titlist Witter (36-1-2, 21 KOs) this Saturday at the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham, England.

The contest will be televised on Showtime as a special edition ShoBox: The New Generation. Usually reserved for rising prospects in the sport of boxing, Showtime’s ShoBox wanted to continue to support a fighter that has fought several times on their series. Saturday will be Bradley’s fourth appearance on the popular ShoBox series. If Bradley defeats Witter, he will become the 25th ShoBox fighter to be crowned with a world title belt.

The fact that the fight is taking place in England, Witter’s back yard, doesn’t appear to bother Bradley one bit.

“I’m excited to go over there and fight,” proclaimed Bradley. “It can be in his back yard. I want that green belt. I want that WBC title. I’m going over there and taking if from him!”

Don’t expect Bradley to freeze up once the fight starts. As an amateur he fought several of today’s top prospects plus he fought overseas many times, including England.

“In the amateurs I had some international experience. I fought in England. I fought a lot of top opposition as an amateur. I’ve fought Andre Ward, Andre Berto, Juan Diaz, Juan McPherson and Anthony Thompson. I train hard and prepare myself like it’s my last fight. I’m here. I’m at the big stage and I’m going to perform and do well for this fight,” Bradley promised.

Bradley credits his team with getting him the necessary fights to be ready for this world title shot. He’s very confident that he will be able to defeat the dangerous titlist.

“Thompson Boxing promotions has brought me along really well along with Gary Shaw. They put tough veterans in front of me to see what I can do and to test me. I’ve learned something in every fight and I had to continue to improve. I showed that in my three ShoBox fights. Those fights prepared me for this big stage and this big opportunity to fight for this world title. I’m mentally, physically, and spiritually ready for this fight. This is something that I’ve wanted my whole life. I’ve always dreamed of having the (WBC) belt. I’m definitely taking this really serious. I’m going to come back with a win.”

All you have to do is take a look at the physical condition of Bradley to know that he has taken the necessary steps to get in shape for the fight.

“I haven’t done anything really different. I just went to another level on my conditioning. I was doing some training called cross-fit training and working with kettle bells. My running regime and conditioning program is impeccable. I just think that I brought that to another level for this fight so I can be ready in the later rounds. I went and got my body fat checked and I’m at three percent. I’m lean and I’m feeling great,” stated Bradley.

It’s in those later rounds that Bradley feels his conditioning and strength will make the difference. In order to defeat Witter in a hostile environment, Bradley feels he knows what he has to do.

“I’ve gotta take it to him,” declared Bradley. “That’s the only way that I see you can beat Junior Witter, especially on his turf. It can’t be close at all.”

Come Saturday night, there could be a new star in the 140-pound division. If Bradley comes out on top, he will definitely have earned it, having had to travel overseas to fight Witter. Nevertheless, at least Witter cannot say that Timothy Bradley ducked him.

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FightNews feature writer Antonio Castro is the host of the "KNR2 BOXING SHOW" which airs each Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. EST on Cleveland's AM 1540 KNR2 in the Cleveland and Northern Ohio area. You can e-mail Antonio at acastro@gkbradio.com.