Pacquiao foe Timothy Bradley Jr to announce retirement – report

MANILA, Philippines – Timothy Bradley Jr, a two-division champion best known for his bouts with Manny Pacquiao, is set to announce his retirement from the sport, according to a report on RingTV.com. 

Bradley (33-2-1, 13 knockouts) has not fought since April of 2016, when he was knocked down twice in a unanimous decision loss to Pacquiao in their third meeting. His two losses to Pacquiao were the only defeats of his career, which began in 2004 after he fell short of qualifying for the Athens, Olympics.  

The Palm Springs, California boxer won his first world title in 2008 with a split-decision over Junior Witter in England for the WBC junior welterweight title. He made 4 defenses of the belt before defeating the previously unbeaten WBC titleholder Devon Alexander in a unification bout.

Bradley courted controversy with his dubious split-decision win over Pacquiao in 2012, which Pacquiao twice avenged, but followed up the Pacquiao fight with a thrilling brawl with Ruslan Provodnikov, after which he noted that he felt concussed, and a split-decision win over Juan Manuel Marquez in what was his biggest win. 

He held the WBO welterweight title twice, winning it in the first Pacquiao fight and earning the interim belt with a win over Jessie Vargas in 2015 and being elevated to full champion status shortly after.

Bradley, who turns 34 next month, was last seen near a boxing ring earlier this month, when he served as one of the ESPN commentators alongside his trainer Teddy Atlas for the Pacquiao-Jeff Horn fight in Australia. – Rappler.com