Timothy Bradley: After I beat Jessie Vargas I can fight trainer Erik Morales too
Timothy Bradley has been in a feisty mood of late.
The two-division champion surprisingly called out Gennady Golovkin for a fight at 160 pounds last week, and now is talking some major trash ahead of his Saturday matchup (9:45 p.m. ET, HBO) against Jessie Vargas at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.
"Jessie Vargas? I'm going to whup his ass on Saturday!" Bradley, 31, said. "And if (trainer Erik) Morales got a problem and he wants some, he can get some at the end of the year, too. I'm going to beat his boy, then I can come back and I'll beat his behind.
"He can come out of retirement. We can fight at a catchweight - 154 pounds, 200 pounds - and I'm going to whup your ass next! I'm fired up for this! Thank you for firing me up. That Saturday night is going to be a good night. It's going to be a good night for Team Bradley. I'm going to walk out that ring with another belt strapped around me."
The fight was originally slated to be contested for the WBO's welterweight belt, but Floyd Mayweather Jr. had a change of heart and said he might want to keep the title. "Money" was annoyed that he never received the belt and asked how he can vacate something he never even had? So Bradley and Vargas will do battle for the sanctioning body's interim version, which is likely to turn into the full title once Floyd indeed relinquishes the belt.
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Bradley (31-1-1, 12 KOs) was "fired up" by comments the future Hall of Famer made recently asking how much he has left after taking punishment in fights with Ruslan Provodnikov and Diego Chaves. Vargas, who held a title at junior welterweight, isn't too impressed with the big talk from his opponent.
"I'm not surprised. He is cracking up from the pressure of fight week," Vargas, 26, stated. "He's obviously very intimated by what he is about to face on Saturday night. This fight will be his downfall. I have had the greatest training camp. I have never felt stronger or hit harder. Erik has been an incredible trainer and who better to learn from then one of the greatest pound-for-pound champions of his era? We know everything about Bradley. This was a Jessie Vargas training camp in an Erik Morales style."
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Vargas (26-0, 9 KOs) began camp in Las Vegas with another legend, Roy Jones Jr., but made the swap a few weeks ago to the Mexican action fighter. Morales, 38, isn't likely to return to the ring for another fight (he retired after a 2012 KO loss to Danny Garcia) but seems to be enjoying his new role in the sport.
"Bradley wants to fight me? Insane," Morales said. "He should be worrying about Jessie giving him a rematch. Bradley needs to get by Jessie and he won't. I assure you Jessie will win on Saturday and from the way Bradley is acting out, it sounds like he knows it."